


Jonghyun's Eleven

by chaosmyths



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: (It's probably Not), Alternate Universe - Thieves, Break Up, Consequences, Heist, M/M, Ong Seongwoo thinks the best way to win back your ex is a casino heist, Post-Break Up, They're co-depdenent as heck, hinted ongbugi, ocean's 11 au, unreliable narrators
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2018-11-22 10:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 89,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11378544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosmyths/pseuds/chaosmyths
Summary: “Sorry you ended up in jail because of me, but I think this is the perfect job to make it up to you. I’ll even let you choose the team.”One day Jonghyun will learn that Ong Seongwoo always has a hidden motivation. He just didn't think Seongwoo would be dumb enough to use a heist to try and win Daniel back.Minhyun is always saying he gives Seongwoo too much credit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no excuse for this except I was watching concert fancams this morning and Ocean’s 11 this afternoon and my brain for some reason went “Wanna One has 11 members, Ocean’s 11” and here we are, even if in the end Jonghyun’s 11 wasn’t entirely made up of Wanna One members (which is obvious because Jonghyun) though they'll all show up. 
> 
> The roles and plot are loosely based off the movie but lots and lots of liberties have been taken.

  
When Jonghyun is released from jail on parole for good behaviour Minhyun is waiting for him.  
  
Literally waiting for him, leaning up against his expensive yellow car that looks wildly out of place in the carpark that is a sea of older more run down vehicles.  
  
Minhyun looks the same as always, sunglasses pushed back on his head, arms crossed over his chest and face as expressively flawless as always. Jonghyun had long ago learned to read Minhyun’s every micro-expression but anyone walking by in the moment would be able to tell that Minhyun is pissed.  
  
Over the six months he’s been incarcerated there are lots of ways Jonghyun has imagined catching up with Minhyun.  
  
He was not expecting Minhyun to practically yell at him across the parking lot, “You should not have covered for him.”  
  
“Be quiet,” Jonghyun whispers furtively, looking over his shoulder to make sure there’s no overeager prison guard listening in. The last thing they need is for him to get to the end of his sentence only for it to all be for nought.  
  
“Oh please,” Minhyun says, lowering his voice as Jonghyun draws closer, “Everyone knew you had an accomplice, they just couldn’t prove who it was.”  
  
“All I did was accidentally break into the museum,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun with the same wide eyed innocence that had gotten him off so easy during his trial, “I had no help and I didn’t steal anything.”  
  
“It’s ridiculous anyone believed that,” Minhyun tells him with a shake of his head, “You’re lucky you’ve got such an innocent looking face, you make everyone want to protect you.”  
  
“Thank you,” Jonghyun accepts his words with an easy smile.  
  
Minhyun sighs, “You shouldn’t have done that for him.”  
  
Jonghyun shrugs, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one is within hearing distance before he whispers, “I had no record. He did. It was an easy decision.”  
  
“I’m annoyed at you,” Minhyun tells him. As if Jonghyun couldn’t have figured that out by himself.  
  
“I know,” Jonghyun says. Minhyun has ever right to be angry at him.  
  
“You let yourself get caught,” Minhyun accuses him.  
  
“I did,” Jonghyun agrees easily, there’s no point in arguing with him when they both know it’s true.  
  
“You let yourself get caught because it was your first offence and if they caught Seongwoo again he’d be locked away for a long time,” Minhyun says with another sigh. Jonghyun is sure that Minhyun figured it out right at the start, it’s probably why he wasn’t anywhere near the trial.  
  
“Seongwoo wouldn’t do well in prison,” Jonghyun says mildly, “Again.”  
  
“Seongwoo would thrive in prison,” Minhyun snorts. Perhaps an over exaggeration but perhaps it’s not, “And maybe it would do him some good.”  
  
“He’s too useful to us to be locked away forever,” Jonghyun says, appealing to Minhyun’s calculating side. They both know that’s not the reason Jonghyun did it.  
  
“He hasn’t been useful in months, he’s only gotten more reckless without your disappointed puppy dog eyes to keep him in line,” Minhyun tells him with a twist of his mouth  
  
“That was keeping him in line?” Jonghyun is genuinely shocked. Seongwoo had always been something of a loose cannon but he was also one of most reliable people Jonghyun knew in this business, always his first choice to help with a heist (Minhyun was a necessity not a choice).  
  
The break up had been hard on him though, and in the few months that had culminated in Jonghyun going to jail for him he’d been wildly unpredictable and dangerously reckless.  
  
“Surprisingly yes,” Minhyun looks exhausted. Jonghyun feels guilty that he left him out here without support, though he knows he would make the same decision in a heartbeat.  
  
“I’m-” Jonghyun starts to say.  
  
Minhyun cuts him off with a raised hand, “Don’t apologise, just get in the car before I decide to leave you here with your new friends,” Minhyun leaves no doubt to what he thinks of said new friends.  
  
“You know, some of them were actually really good guys,” Jonghyun tells him earnestly as he gets into the passenger seat of the car.  
  
Minhyun smiles in resignation as he starts the car “How many?”  
  
“How many what?” Jonghyun asks.  
  
“Don’t play dumb,” Minhyun huffs good-naturedly “How many new charges did you adopt?”  
  
“One or two,” Jonghyun answers sheepishly. Obviously there were some really nasty men in there with him but there were also a lot of kids that had lost their way, “They reminded me of what we could have been with less luck.” Without each other.  
  
“Any of them have any useful skills?” Minhyun asks, not taking his eyes off the road. Always thinking of the next job is Hwang Minhyun, “What’s the use in adopting kids that can’t pull their own weight?”  
  
“They always learn,” Jonghyun says.  
  
“Under you tutelage,” Minhyun says pointedly.  
  
“Not just mine,” Jonghyun defends. As reluctantly as some of the others pretend to be they’re all pretty decent at teaching their skill set.  
  
Minhyun hums in response.  


* * *

  
  
Minhyun takes Jonghyun to a house that Jonghyun has never seen before, though they’re not in a city either of them had much familiarity with before Seongwoo decided he needed to steal matrimonial masks.  
  
Jonghyun wonders absently if Minhyun has been here the entire time that he was inside, the thought makes him feel warmer than it has any right to.  
  
“So,” Minhyun says, turning the engine off and angling his body towards Jonghyun, “Seongwoo has a suggestions for a job.”  
  
“That’s, not good,” Jonghyun says slowly. Seongwoo is usually one to go along with whatever jobs that Minhyun and Jonghyun or another one of his contacts want to pull, not fussy about what he’s stealing as long as he gets a pay day. The few times he’d chosen the target had gone badly more often than not.  
  
“Wait till you hear what it is,” Minhyun says. He doesn’t tell Jonghyun what it is, which means it must be really bad.  
  
“I take it Daniel is serious about the break up this time?” Jonghyun asks with a frown. Daniel had broken up with Seongwoo because of his “career choices” a couple of times though the separations had never lasted particularly long before. Jonghyun had been sure they would reconcile again before his trial was even over.  
  
“As far as I can tell, considering he’s cut off all contact with everyone,” Minhyun says. Jonghyun’s heart sinks. Though they only knew Daniel through Seongwoo Jonghyun had considered Daniel a friend. A real friend, one of the only ones he had removed from their lifestyle. That he’d cut off all contact completely meant that Seongwoo had really screwed up.  
  
“Okay, don’t mention Daniel to Seongwoo,” Jonghyun says as lightly as he can manage. It’s obviously a lot deeper than that.  
  
Minhyun snorts, “Just, see if you can keep him out of jail without ending up there yourself this time,” he says before opening his door.  
  
Jonghyun follows suit and is not even slightly surprised to see Seongwoo is waiting in the doorway of the house, arms spread wide, “Jonghyun, how was your time in the clink?” he asks.  
  
If Jonghyun didn’t know how Seongwoo was he might be offended he was being so flippant about what Jonghyun had done for him. Jonghyun knows better though, remembers the guilty and slightly heartbroken look on Seongwoo’s face when Jonghyun had let himself be caught.  
  
Jonghyun had hoped at the time it would be enough to get Seongwoo to take a few less risks, to think things through. If Minhyun is to be believed (and he is) it hadn’t worked.  
  
“Excellent, I met this really great conman, I think I might be using him for our jobs once he gets out,” Jonghyun answers dryly.  
  
Seongwoo laughs, “Please, I am one of a kind.”  
  
“Thank fuck for that,” Minhyun mutters as he walks past Jonghyun. He hides a laugh into his hand.  
  
“Enough with the pleasantries, tell me what you’re really here for,” Jonghyun says cutting to the chase. Not that he isn’t glad to see Seongwoo, but the telltale twitch of Seongwoo’s fingers give him away.  
  
Minhyun looks over his shoulder, “We should probably take any discussions of any not entirely legal activities inside,” he says pointedly.  
  
It’s a good point, this looks like a decent neighbourhood and the last thing they need is a well meaning nosy neighbour reporting them to the police.

* * *

  
  
“You want to _what_?” Jonghyun asks in shock, trying to ignore Minhyun laughing out of the corner of his eyes, “Please tell me I heard you wrong.”  
  
“Sorry you ended up in jail because of me,” Seongwoo says which is an appreciated sentiment but not at all relevant at the moment, “but I think this is the perfect job to make it up to you. I’ll even let you pick the team.” Like Jonghyun and Minhyun don’t always chose the team.  
  
“A _casino_ Seongwoo,” Jonghyun says skeptically, “You’d be better off trying to rob the US Government.”  
  
“I’ve done that before, it’s actually not that hard,” Seongwoo says flippantly. Jonghyun should have know that Seongwoo had tried that before.  
  
“The point is, no one robs casino’s Seongwoo. For good reason,” Jonghyun says. If he thought the matrimonial masks were going to be the craziest job Seongwoo would attempt he was sorely mistaken.  
  
“It pretty much can’t be done,” Minhyun decides to help out here now he’s done laughing. Jonghyun is sure he’s already tried to dissuade Seongwoo to little success.  
  
“It can be done with a group of skilled people,” Seongwoo says with a roll of his eyes “everyone is just too scared.”  
  
“You mean like everyone was scared to go after the matrimonial masks?” Minhyun asks sarcastically, clearly still blaming Seongwoo for that one.  
  
Seongwoo deflates slightly but doesn’t seem to give up.  
  
“You’re going to do it whether we agree or not aren’t you?” Jonghyun asks him in resignation. There’s no point in talking circles around it.  
  
Seongwoo shrugs. It’s basically an admission.  
  
“Give me a day to think about it,” Jonghyun says. Seongwoo grins and Minhyun sighs with a shake of his head. They both know Jonghyun has as good as agreed.

  
  
  
“Right,” Jonghyun says to Minhyun later that night over a glass of wine after Seongwoo has left. They have the blueprints of the casino that Seongwoo had just happened to bring along laid out on the table in front of him, “If we’re going to do this-”  
  
“And we are,” Minhyun sounds resigned.  
  
“If we are going to do it, we’re going to need at least seven others, by my estimation” Jonghyun says, absent-mindedly taping the notepad in front of him with a pen.  
  
“Well Jaehwan obviously,” Minhyun says immediately, as Jonghyun had expected. Only once before has Minhyun worked with an munitions expert that wasn’t Jaehwan. It didn’t go well, he almost ended up buried under the wall of a safe.  
  
“Obviously,” Jonghyun had already written his name down, “Inside man?”  
  
“Woojin got his dealers license for a job he pulled with Youngmin a few years ago, which makes things a lot easier,” Minhyun says thoughtfully, eyes glued to the blueprints, “And he was in contact a few weeks ago asking if you’d have anything planned when you got out.”  
  
“Okay, that’s good,” Jonghyun likes Woojin. He’s a good kid, hard working like no one else.  
  
“You know who else was sniffing around for a job?” Minhyun asks when Jonghyun doesn’t say anything else. He’s still looking at the plans but his expression is easy to read.  
  
“Based off your face I’m going to assume one of the chicks,” Jonghyun says. He knows well and good it was Seonho but the chicks have never pulled a job apart as far as Jonghyun is aware. Kind of like him and Minhyun but more chaotic and entirely inclined to follow rather than lead.  
  
“Yeah,” Minhyun says simply, “Seonho was over. I get the impression they’re a little bit, at a loose end right now,”  
  
“Okay, then that’s the drivers sorted,” Jonghyun hums, adding their names to the list no discussion needed.  
  
Usually he’d be a lot more proactive in making suggestions but he’s been out of the game almost a year and their business moves quickly. He has no idea who is still in the game or who is on another job, if anyone else ended up caught by the law or there are any new grudges he’s unaware of. He’s completely out of the loop.  
  
Minhyun knows though, he always knows, so he doesn’t question it and instead keeps offering suggestions, “I think I might have an idea for a grease-man but let me get back to you on that one,” he says.  
  
“Do we need an art expert for a casino do you think?” Jonghyun asks, they might or they might not. He’s got less experience than usual to rely on for this one on account of the fact he’s never been stupid enough to go after a casino before.  
  
“I hope not,” Minhyun sighs looking up at him for the first time, “Jisung disappeared about the same time Daniel did and Sungwoon was on a pretty big job in Japan with Taehyun last time I spoke to him,”  
  
“Okay, art is a we’ll see,” Jonghyun crosses that off on his list, biting the pen as he thinks.  
  
There are still people to sort, they haven’t actually approached anyone to ask if they’re willing to pull the job, not to mention they need someone to finance this whole mess. Despite that all Jonghyun has been approaching this as if it’s a done deal; he’s made his decision.  
  
There’s no way he’s going to let Seongwoo land himself in jail again, especially not over sloppy work because of a break up, which means he’s going to do anything he can. It just so happens 'anything' apparently includes attempting to rob a casino.  
  
“So, we’re really doing this?” Minhyun says leaning back in his chair, having come to the same conclusion at the same time as Jonghyun. It’s nice to see a few months in jail hasn’t changed their ability to communicate without words  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun agrees, “Against all my good judgement we’re really doing this.”

* * *

  
  
The next morning when Jonghyun checks his email for the first time there’s an email from an email address he doesn’t recognise. An email that was sent during his first month in the joint. It catches his attention because only a dozen people know of the existence of the account.  
  
From: Unknown Sender  
I’m sorry you ended up in prison. I didn’t ever mean for that to happen.  
-D  
  
Jonghyun shakes his head, unsure what to make of it and sure any reply he sends will go unanswered.

* * *

  
Seongwoo shows up after breakfasts, smug smile on his face like he knows what Jonghyun’s answer is going to be.  
  
“So, tell me what I want to hear,” Seongwoo says as he saunters into the room, sprawling in the dining room chair like he owns the place. His confidence would be unpleasant if Jonghyun didn’t know how much of it was fake.  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun says, causing Seongwoo’s smile to grow, “On one condition,”  
  
“What’s that?” Seongwoo asks with a curious cock of his eyebrow, clearly not bothered.  
  
Jonghyun sighs, “Well first, we need to see Boa.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t want to talk about how much of this chapter I wrote at work (or the fact I have to get up for work in 5 hours)

Jonghyun and Minhyun argue about whether or not they should take Seongwoo with them to see Boa.  
   
Perhaps aruge is too strong of a word, Jonghyun can count on one hand the number of times he’s truly argued with Minhyun and not once has it ever been because of something as trivial as a job.  
   
It would probably be more accurate to say they have a difference of opinion.  
   
Anyone with eyes can see that Boa has a soft spot for Seongwoo the size of the moon, so Jonghyun is of the belief that they should take him along. Boa is going to hate the idea or robbing a casino, it’s going to be a miracle if they can convince her to back them, and anything they can do to get her in a good mood is going to help.  
   
Minhyun on the other hand thinks that Boa will take one look at Seongwoo, spot his desperation a mile away and deem the entire thing too risky.  
   
They can’t come to an agreement and in the end they don’t have to.  
   
“Seongwoo just sent me a text,” Minhyun says as the two of them are about to leave the house. They still hadn’t decided if they were going to bring Seongwoo along, they probably wouldn’t have until they were already driving, “It says ‘I’m off to save our friend from his own stupidity give Boa my love and apologies for depriving her of my company.’”  
   
“Well,” Jonghyun says, because he doesn’t know what else to say.  
   
“I guess Seongwoo agreed with me but his pride wouldn’t let him say it,” Minhyun shrugs, tucking his phone back into his pocket.  
   
“You think?” Jonghyun asks skeptically, holding the door open as Minhyun chooses between his coats, “Couldn’t he come up with a lie that was a bit more, believable?”  
   
Minhyun shrugs, “Well what friend of ours could be possibly be saving from their own stupidity?”  
   
“Himself,” Jonghyun jokes.  
   
“Maybe he means you,” Minhyun teases, finally deciding on a coat and pulling it on, “He recognises that your decision to take him along was stupid and is saving you from doing it.”  
   
“Okay,” Jonghyun agrees easily, ushering Minhyun out the door before he decides to change his shoes, “Now hurry up before we’re late and Boa decides not to see us at all.”  
 

* * *

  
   
   
It probably wouldn’t have mattered whichever way they decided.  
   
Boa takes one look at Minhyun and Jonghyun sitting at the outdoor dining table they’d been shown to by one of what Seongwoo calls her ‘Gay Life Partners’ (Jonghyun’s forever forgetting their names) and quirks an eyebrow.  
   
“Am I going to need a drink for this one?” She asks them in good humour as she sits down.  
   
Minhyun nods his head, with a charming smile and no sign of the dilemma he’d had over what to wear this morning, and suggests “Maybe even two.”  
   
Boa laughs but does pour herself two glasses of champagne, downing one quickly, “Okay,” she says, holding the second glass in her hand, “What has Seongwoo done this time?”  
   
“What makes you think Seongwoo has done anything?” Jonghyun can’t help but ask.  
   
Boa laughs again, tapping her bright red nails on the table before she starts counting off on them, “Firstly Seongwoo isn’t here and you always bring Seongwoo with you when you’re asking me for money, secondly Minhyun has his good shoes on and thirdly,” she pauses for dramatic effect.  
   
“Not every job we do involves Seongwoo,” Jonghyun points out during the convenient opening.  
   
“That is true, once in a blue moon you pull a job big enough you need my backing but not big enough to need your conman,” She says. She's right, for the most part they only need to borrow money when a job has lots of moving parts, “But you mentioned Seongwoo being in on the job on the phone.”  
   
“Oh,” Jonghyun did do that.  
  
“So, I’m going to assume that Seongwoo is badly dealing with a personal matter by hiding behind risks and arrogant humour,” Boa says summing Seongwoo’s current state up pretty accurately.  
  
“You might be right,” Jonghyun concedes.  
   
“I’m going to assume it’s something to do with that boyfriend of his with the biblical name, Daniel or David or Jesus,” She says sipping on the second glass of champagne. She very well knows what Daniel’s name is because Boa is nothing if not a dedicated professional, but she’s making a point.  
   
“They broke up,” Minhyun tells her shortly.  
   
“I'm not going to get anymore details than that?” She asks Minhyun. Boa is something of a gossip monger, not because she cares about what anyone does with their life but because she claims leverage is worth more than money in her world.  
   
“We don’t know anymore details than that,” Jonghyun admits. At least he doesn’t, Minhyun might, but honestly he gets the feeling even Seongwoo doesn’t know why this time was different for Daniel.  
   
“So, Seongwoo is doing something risky to try and win Daniel back?” Boa asks, proving Jonghyun’s assumption right.  
   
Jonghyun and Minhyun had considered that might be Seongwoo’s motivation for this job but no matter what angle they look at it they can’t see how Seongwoo would think Daniel would even be aware of them robbing a casino. Plus it’s not like Seongwoo was short for cash and planned to win Daniel over with newfound riches.  
  
“Or he’s doing reckless things out of grief,” Minhyun tells her what Jonghyun is thinking.  
   
“Either way, he’s got a plan that neither of you approve of?” Boa guesses.  
   
“He’s got a target in mind, not a plan,” Jonghyun corrects her, Seongwoo is not to be trusted with plans they’ve learned over the years.  
   
“What is this target that has you so hesitant to tell me?” Boa asks, cutting straight to the point. Jonghyun should have known there was no easing her into it.  
   
“Have you heard of Ahn Junyoung?” Jonghyun asks, unsure exactly how to approach this.  
  
Boa puts her glass down and leans across the table, “Of course I’ve heard of that manipulative little man, I’ve had a run in or two with him before, which I’m sure you know.”  
  
“Maybe,” Jonghyun says with a slight tilt of his head. That might have had something to do with why they approached Boa before Kahi or Seokhoon.  
  
“Your target is Ahn Junyoung?” Boa clarifies, a look Jonghyun can’t identify crossing her face, “I hope you know what you’re doing. He’s a vindictive son of a bitch, if he knows you’ve crossed him he won’t stop till he gets back at you. Ten times over.”  
  
Jonghyun could lie here, pretend they’ve got a plan and are confident it will succeed. Boa always responds better to honesty, “Seongwoo is set on this, so we can let him try it himself and certainly fail, or we can try to help him out and increase his odds.”  
  
Boa smiles, pouring herself a cup of tea from the pot on the table. She’s taking her time, making them sweat, but they’ve waited out worse people for a lot longer.  
  
“I appreciate the honesty.” Boa inclines her head, “What’s the target then, his personal collection? The Seoul Gallery? The Japanese wood-block prints collection out in London? Or maybe it’s that god awful vanity project, a tribute to Hallyu, not worth much but a sure fire way to piss him off?”  
  
Clearly Boa has had more than a run in or two with him, but they already knew that.  
  
“We were thinking his latest vanity project.”  
  
Both her eyebrows completely disappear into her hairline at this point, “The casino? Boys you’re good at what you do, maybe the best I’ve seen, but trying to hit a casino is just plain stupidity.” Her tone is one like she’s offering advice, no longer playing at hesitance. It means she actually is hesitant and they only have a short window to convince her it’s not too risky.  
  
Thankfully this is where Minhyun excels.  
  
“We know it’s stupid and we know it’s risky. Jonghyun is not going to charge in without a plan because that’s not how he words. But whatever the plan is has a possibility of failure, bigger here than usual maybe but all jobs have risks,” Minhyun says, laying their cards on the table, “Bigger risks mean a bigger pay day though and arguably hitting a newly establish casino by a new player in the game with a casino probably funded by less than legal means is less risk than going after one of the big guys.”  
  
“So, can you bank roll us or not?” Jonghyun asks when Minhyun finishes.  
  
She takes a long time to decide. Jonghyun knows she’s balancing the risks and rewards in her head, he’s seen her do it more times than he can count. There’s no way you’re so successful for so long at such a young age without thinking through every decision you make. Boa is the best for a reason and it’s not her looks or charisma (though those must help).  
   
“Okay,” she says eventually, “I’ll fund you on two conditions on top of our usual agreement.”  
   
Jonghyun tries not to show his relief because if Boa senses weakness she'll make sure those conditions are impossible to meet.  
   
 “Firstly, Ahn has a small collection of Hokusai's, last I heard they were on display in his Casino to celebrate it’s opening. I want them,” she says, though demands might be a better word.  
   
Jonghyun nods. He can do that. Art theft is their area of expertise after all and if they’re going going to rob the man of millions of dollars in cash a few art prints aren’t going to make much of a difference.  
   
“The second thing is more of a future favour,” she says delicately, taping a red fingernail on the side of her teacup. That's slightly more problematic.  
   
Jonghyun hates owing people, would rather square away his debts and favours as soon as he possibly can, Minhyun is the same.  
   
“I have a job that I’m trying to line up in eight or so months, I’d like your assurance that if it goes through you’ll help me,” she says unperturbed.  
   
Jonghyun looks at Minhyun trying to gauge his thoughts on the issue. Promising to help Boa on a job she’d probably have asked them to assist with anyway shouldn’t be a big deal. Being in debt to Boa, still owing her if the job doesn’t go through or having to schedule their own jobs around the possibility of this job is less than ideal.  
   
They don’t have any other choice though, and one look at Minhyun shows that he’s arrived at the same conclusion.  
   
“By all means, discuss the terms if you must,” Boa tells them, sounding like she’s trying not to laugh.  
   
“No, it’s okay. We agree, we’ll do it,” Jonghyun tells her, tearing his eyes away from Minhyun so he can smile at her.  
   
“As always doing business with you is a pleasure boys, not many people in this business are as civilised as you are these days,” she smiles, her first genuine smile since they’ve got here, “But now that we’ve settled it you must tell me what prison was like Jonghyun, I’ve always wanted to know if Changmin was exaggerating about it, but not enough to get myself sent there.”  
 

* * *

  
   
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun return to the house, finance secured, to find Seongwoo lounging on the couch like he owns the place.  
  
That’s never exactly been an unusual occurrence over the last seven years.  
  
What is unusual is that Jaehwan is sitting next to him looking decidedly worse for wear, his clothes ripped and disheveled, eyes exhausted and a long streak of dirt running down the side of his face and neck.  
  
“Do I want to know what happened?” Minhyun asks with a sigh, looking like he’s trying to decide whether to check on Jaehwan or tell him off for getting the couch dirty.  
  
“I told you, I was saving Jaehwan from his own stupidity,” Seongwoo says with a self satisfied smile. Jonghyun doesn’t miss the fact that there’s a first aid kit tucked under his arm, nor the clean bandage on Jaehwan’s wrist.  
  
Jonghyun is surprised he was telling the truth with that text though, he’ll have to turn that ‘i-told-you-so’ back on Minhyun later.  
  
“Never work with Australians,” Jaehwan says with a shake of his head, “Never.”  
  
“Duly noted,” Jonghyun says as Minhyun starts fussing around Jaehwan, checking the bandage to Seongwoo’s obvious annoyance.  
  
“Although, it’s not like I had many offers with you temporarily out of commission and Minhyun lying low,” Jaehwan says pointedly.  
  
“You finished a job with Hyunbin less than two weeks ago,” Seongwoo contradicts him. No one questions how he knows that “So clearly you just took the next job that came along. Talk about low standards.”  
  
“Really, you want to talk about low standards?” Jaehwan snaps back. It’s meant to be a joke, everyone knows that, but the way Seongwoo’s posture suddenly goes stiff shows it’s hit a bit close to home.  
  
“Why don’t you go get cleaned up,” Jonghyun tells Jaehwan to ease the tension, “Before Minhyun gets a stress ulcer over the soot you’re leaving everywhere.”  
  
Jaehwan grumbles but lets Minhyun lead him away to the bathroom, leaving Seongwoo and Jonghyun.  
  
“So, how did the meeting with Boa go?” Seongwoo eventually asks, once Jonghyun collapses into the arm chair. There’s a forced lightness in his voice they both know isn't fooling Jonghyun for a second.  
  
“She’ll fund us as long as we steal a couple of pieces from the Hokusai display that Ahn has set up in the place,” Jonghyun explains. Seongwoo looks awfully happy with that development, though Jonghyun’s just going to put that down to how eager he is to get the job done - Boa denying them the money would have left them dead in the water.  
  
“So we'll need a forger,” Seongwoo says with a serious twist to his mouth.  
  
“It really has to be Sungwoon,” Minhyun speaks up from behind them, having shown Jaehwan to that bathroom, “No one we trust is nearly as good at forging mokuhanga as he is.”  
  
“I thought you said he was on a job in Japan with Taehyun?” Jonghyun asks, twisting his head at an awkward angle so he can look at Minhyun.  
  
“He is, but we don’t have another option, this job is too important to go with someone we’ve never worked with before. We need to be able to guarantee the quality of the work,” Minhyun says. Jonghyun agrees with him wholeheartedly. If he had it his way there would be be no one new on this crew though unfortunately he knows they’ll need at least two.  
  
“See if he can get it done from Japan or he’s near the end of his job with Taehyun,” Jonghyun says. He didn’t mean immediately, but clearly Minhyun takes it that way because he pulls out his phone and leaves the room.  
  
“Who have you got so far?” Seongwoo asks, as if he hasn’t snooped around the house and found their lists.  
  
“Woojin and the chicks are in,” Jonghyun says, Minhyun had got in contact with them the day before. They were all as eager as Minhyun had predicted, “I assume you’ve gotten Jaehwan on board?”  
  
“Yes,” Seongwoo says with a nod of his head, “Though it took a lot of expert convincing on my end.”  
  
“Because Jaehwan is always reluctant to blow stuff up with us,” Jonghyun says sarcastically. Jaehwan and Seongwoo are always the most open to jobs with them. Jonghyun can only think of one time that either of them had turned down a job offer, and that was Seongwoo because he had something to do with Daniel.  
  
“We’ll definitely need a tech guy,” Seongwoo says, tapping his finger on his chin, “But your usual guys aren’t an option at the moment.”  
  
Minhyun had mentioned in their initial discussions that Kenta was too hot to get out of Japan right now, and last Jonghyun had heard Taemin was awaiting trial for trying to hack the Indian Government (Jonghyun didn’t want to know his motivation for that one). That still left one of their regular guys though.  
  
“What happened to Hyeongseob?”  
  
“He got caught by the NIS, they gave him the option of working with them or getting locked up for life,” Seongwoo says with a shrug like it’s no big deal. Once again it's clearly a front because Seongwoo had always had an obvious soft spot for Hyeongseob.  
  
“Who does that leave?” Jonghyun asks.  
  
“I hear Bae Jinyoung has gotten slightly less…” Jaehwan’s voice joins the conversations, now freshly showed and dressed in what Jonghyun recognises as Minhyun’s clothes.  
  
“Useless?” Seongwoo suggests tactlessly.  
  
“He’s not useless, just slightly nervy,” Jonghyun corrects disapprovingly. Jinyoung is good at what he does but his nerves get the best of him so that he always comes across looking twitchy and suspicious.  
  
Not a good combination in their line of work.  
  
“His nerves have gotten better though, last time I worked with him,” Minhyun comes back into the room, resting his hands on the back of Jonghyun's chair.  
  
“For a job this big we need better than slightly improved,” Seongwoo argues.  
  
“For a job this big we need someone we know is loyal and skilled,” Jonghyun counters. Jinyoung might be on the bottom of his list for his disposition but he’s still _on_ the list for his skills and that’s the important part, “If you have any other options I’m all ears.”  
  
Jonghyun can see that Seongwoo is desperately trying to think of anyone he might know, but in the end he comes to the same conclusion that Jonghyun had. “Jinyoung will do,” he says with a sigh.  
  
“That leaves, greaseman? You said you might have something?” Jonghyun cranes his head back to look at Minhyun.  
  
Minhyun shakes his head, “That fell through and I’ve got nothing else.”  
  
“Ask the others,” Jaehwan suggests, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. Minhyun’s eyebrow twitches, “If you can’t think of anyone you trust then the next best option has to be someone that one of your team trusts, right?”  
  
“That’s a good point,” Minhyun nods, pulling his phone out again. Jonghyun doesn’t know why he even bothers putting it away, since during a job he’s basically always on it. “I’ll ask the others, if they know anyone. We could probably pull something off without one, if worse comes to worse but…” he trails off.  
  
“A greaseman is always useful,” Jonghyun finishes quietly.  
  
“Assuming one of the others knows a greaseman, that makes nine. Ten if we count Sungwoon. Do we count Sungwoon?” Jonghyun asks Minhyun.  
  
“Tentatively, he really wants to help, says he’s always wanted to have a shot at Hokusai, he’ll just have to consult with Taehyun, about their current job” Minhyun answers him absentmindedly, eyes glued to his phone, “So, we can count on him to at least get the forgeries to us but I’m not sure if he’s going to be legs on the ground.”  
  
“Okay, we have nine and a half then, do we need an eleventh?” Jonghyun asks. He’s asking the room but everyone knows he’s really asking Minhyun.  
  
Minhyun shrugs.  
  
“Okay, we need a eleventh,” Jonghyun agrees.  
  
“Is it an eleventh or a tenth?” Seongwoo muses out loud.  
  
“I think,” Jaehwan says like he’s seriously considering the question, “That if we had nine and a half then we need half a tenth person and half an eleventh person.” He barely gets the words out before he’s laughing at himself, which sets Seongwoo off laughing at Jaehwan’s laugh.  
  
Jonghyun hides a smile into his elbow. Minhyun doesn’t look up from his phone but he does say, “I think Boa and Sungwoon count as half each, so we actually are looking for an eleventh.”  
  
“Okay, we need one more,” Jonghyun makes sure his words can’t be turned into a lame joke for Seongwoo’s amusement.  
  
“Minki?” Jaehwan suggests.  
  
“You can ask him,” Minhyun says with a shake of his head, “but I don’t think he’s going to be on board.”  
  
“Why not?” Jonghyun frowns. He’s still floundering to find his footing after 6 months out of the game but Minki is one of his oldest and most reliable friends, he can’t imagine six months in jail would have changed that.  
  
“Just ask him,” Minhyun says with a wave of his hand, typing away quickly.  
  
So Jonghyun calls Minki then and there.  
  
“Kim Jonghyun,” Minki answers the phone with a dramatic flourish, “You’ve been out of jail for over a week and I’m only hearing from you now when you’re trying to recruit me.”  
  
“What makes you think I’m trying to recruit you?” Jonghyun asks, even though that is exactly what he’s attempting to do.  
  
“I have psychic powers,” Minki tells him in such a serious voice Jonghyun nods along as if that makes perfect sense before he registers the words.  
  
“What is it really?” Jonghyun asks, wanting to know if they have a leak or something, “I don’t just get in contact with you for jobs.”  
  
“No you don’t,” Minki assures him, “But Seonho called me out of the blue yesterday, for the first time in a year to ask if I was in on your job. A job I had never heard of. How is it the chicks know about your first out of prison job before me Jonghyun?”  
  
“Because Seonho is obsessed with Minhyun,” Jonghyun answers dryly. Minhyun finally looks up from his phone so he can glare at Jonghyun.  
  
“That is true, but before you ask no I want nothing to do with whatever desperate, sad midlife crisis Seongwoo has dragged you all along into,” Minki says as Jonghyun gets up to walk away from prying ears to finish his conversation.  
  
“Why?” Jonghyun can’t help asking. Minki is usually up for risks as long he can complain about how stupid the plan is the whole time, “Also, I hope Seongwoo hasn’t reached the middle of his life already,” he adds, just so he doesn’t come across like he’s pressuring Minki.  
  
“I have spent two years fully establishing this cover, I’m not going to let you ruin it just after getting out of prison because Seongwoo is not capable of dealing with his feelings like an adult and you’re not capable of saying no to him,” Minki says. His tone of voice is calm, matter-of-fact, but Jonghyun still feels like he’s been scolded.  
  
“Minki,” he says, not sure how to respond to that.  
  
“No, that’s how you are Jonghyun I’m not criticising you, Seongwoo yes, but not you,” Minki tells him reassuringly, before he laughs, “Besides, think of it this way. If, probably when, this fucks up for you I’ll be best placed to ride in on my white horse and save all your asses.”  
  
Jonghyun laughs, as much at the mental image of Minki attempting to ride a horse as anything else.  
  
“Well we’ll miss your sticky fingers,” Jonghyun tells him, accepting Minki’s decision without question. He never wants to ever force someone into a job they don’t want to do.  
  
“And my pretty face,” Minki says, “But if it’s sticky fingers you want I think I might know the kid for you.”  
  
Minki gives him the details of some protege of his, and they catch up for a little bit before Minki has to go and Jonghyun returns to the others.  
  
Minhyun looks particularly smug when Jonghyun tells him that Minki isn’t in.  
  
“He did recommend someone though, a pick-pocket that he’s been training up over the past few years. Jihoon he said his name was,” Jonghyun says as he sits back down.  
  
“Park Jihoon? I’ve heard good things about him,” Minhyun nods in approval, perching on the arm of Jonghyun’s armchair, “Apparently he’s got perfect natural timing and an innocent face.”  
  
“The perfect combination,” Jonghyun says unnecessarily.  
  
“Yes, just like me,” Seongwoo has to say because he can’t help himself. Jaehwan throws a pillow at him.  
  
“Where are we on the greaseman ?” Jonghyun asks Minhyun, ignoring Seongwoo. Logically he knows it could take them a couple of days to pin someone down but now that they’ve gotten the ball rolling, the familiar sense of unused time being wasted has settled over his shoulders.  
  
“Woojin knows someone who he speaks very highly of and who he says is keen,” Minhyun finally, finally puts the phone away, “So we’ll need to meet him, get to know a bit about him and his skills, but I think he’ll work out.”  
  
Woojin is one of the least trustful people that Jonghyun knows (or rather it takes a lot to earn his trust) so if he’s vouching for this kid, whoever it is, he’ll probably work out.  
  
“Okay, we’ve got our eleven,” Jonghyun says with a nod. That’s the easy part sorted at least, now he can start planning.  
  
“Actually,” Seongwoo interjects, interrupting Jonghyun’s train of thought. Minhyun sighs and  Jaehwan laughs in the background because they all know what he’s going to say, “We’ve got our ten and a half.”  
  
Jonghyun groans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of this chapter I Struggled with because it’s basically scene setting but kinda important for later so? Oops hopefully it wasn’t as much of a chore to read as it was to write :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter wasn’t ever actually meant to be a thing I have a huge chunk of the next one written but then I was like, hmm maybe it’d be easier to give most of the characters little intro scenes rather than trying to write 11 people all at once.
> 
> That’s why the format of this is so odd
> 
> (One day I’ll stop feeling the need to justify my decisions as author - hopefully xD)

Deciding who they want in on the job ends up being the easy part as Jonghyun soon discovers. The hard part is gathering everyone up, getting some of them to agree, and getting everyone to Las Vegas.  


**Four**  
  
  
“Why did the fucker have to open his casino in Las Vegas,” Seongwoo asks with a theatrical sigh as he lies across the couch in the house they’ve been residing in (Jonghyun’s still not sure who owns it - if it’s Minhyun or an acquaintance or if they’re technically squatting).  
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun don’t bother looking up from where they’re sitting pouring over their plans because Seongwoo is probably just bored and they have work to do.  
  
Jaehwan it seems doesn’t or just wants a distraction because he points out, “You’re the one that chose the target.”  
  
“And, casinos are usually in Las Vegas,” Minhyun mutters, unable to let an obvious opening for logic to pass him by.  
  
“Couldn’t he have gone with Macau or something?” Seongwoo asks with a pout (Jonghyun can’t see him but over the years he’s learned to distinguish what Seongwoo sounds like when he’s pouting).  
  
“You know I’d take my chances with the American government over the Chinese government,” Jaehwan points out, an excellent argument.  
  
“Plus, we’re a bit less hot in America,” Jonghyun says looking up at Seongwoo. It’s one of the reasons he’d given in as easily as he had. Sure the job was stupid and risky but at least there was minimal chance of bumping into someone they’d pissed off.  
  
“I’m always hot,” Seongwoo throws out because it’s probably a compulsion at this point.  
  
Jaehwan mutters something under his breath that Jonghyun doesn’t quite catch, though he thinks it’s something to do with setting Seongwoo on fire.   
   
“It’s too late to change targets now, you should have suggested a target in Macau if it matters to you so much,” Minhyun tells Seongwoo before the other two get distracted bickering (not that Seongwoo is doing anything productive right now).  
  
They all know that Seongwoo didn’t pick Ahn randomly, even if none of them know exactly what his reasons could be.  
  
“I just don’t like the desert,” Seongwoo mutters deliberately loud enough that they can all hear him, “It’s too hot.”  
  
“I’m kind of disappointed he didn’t take the ‘hotter than me’ joke that was so obviously there,” Minhyun says after a beat, looking up.  
  
“I’m more original than that, we’ve already covered how hot I am in the last five minutes,” Seongwoo says with a lazy wave of his hand. He’s not more original than that.  
  
“Well, unfortunately we’ve done about all we can from here,” Jonghyun tells him not feeling particularly apologetic despite his tone, “So time to hit the strip.” He ignores Minhyun’s groan at his words.  
  
Maybe a small part of him wants to see Seongwoo have to deal with something he doesn’t want to, no matter how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things.  
  
“Road trip?” Seongwoo suggests sarcastically.  
  
“I’m not sure you’ve noticed but there’s an ocean between us and Las Vegas,” Jaehwan tells him. Jonghyun tries to ignore them and focus back on tracking Park Jihoon down. All they know is that he’s somewhere in America.  
  
“Boat trip then,” Seongwoo shrugs.  
  
“Can you drive a boat?” Jaehwan retorts before he pauses with a quizzical look on his face, “Do you drive a boat or sail a boat?”  
  
“Depends on the type of boat,” Jonghyun answers  because he can’t help himself.  
  
“Jonghyun has his skippers ticket,” Seongwoo tells Jaehwan. Once again Jonghyun doesn’t actually know how Seongwoo knows that because it’s never come up in the course of a job before.  
  
“We’re not sailing to America,” Jonghyun tells Seongwoo sternly. Usually he lets Seongwoo talk his more ridiculous ideas out and doesn’t feel the need to shoot them down because by the time he’s finished speaking everyone in the room knows they’re very much not going to do what Seongwoo has suggested.  
  
Right now though all of Seongwoo’s ideas are ridiculous in the way that means they have nothing to measure them against and therefore they sound more reasonable. Jonghyun doesn’t really feel like ending up being interrogated by American border police for illegally entering the country.  
  
“We’re booked on the 10pm flight tomorrow,” Minhyun says joining the conversation for the first time. Bless Minhyun and his ability to get things done.  
  
“Ruin the fun then,” Seongwoo says kicking his legs in front of him.  
  
“I think that someone would end up dead before the job even started if we tried to road trip,” Minhyun says.  
  
“Jaehwan would be doing the murdering,” Seongwoo suggests.  
  
“Yeah and it would be you I would murder,” Jaehwan mutters under his breath purposefully loud enough to be heard. It's really quite a terrible habit of his.  
  
“No murder,” Jonghyun reminds them lightly, “It was enough of a headache finding people for a team the first time around.”  
  
  
  
  
**Five, Six**  
  
Their fourth morning in Las Vegas Jonghyun is unceremoniously woken by someone jumping on him.  
  
Actually jumping on Minhyun might be a more accurate description because Jonghyun just gets a knee in the back and a foot in his thigh whilst Minhyun lets out the huff of a winded person.  
  
“What the fuck,” Minhyun grumbles as Jonghyun rolls away from him and buries his head under his pillow.  
  
They were up until four am co-ordinating with Minki trying to track down his protege. They were unsuccessful in the end since Minki was unapologetic about his refusal to actually get in contact with Jihoon - said he refused to compromise his cover that way (never mind the fact being in contact with Jonghyun who had an actual criminal record was probably riskier).  
  
At least they’d narrowed it down further to the West Coast of the US.  
  
“They could have been naked Seonho,” A familiar voice drawls from the corner of the room sounding about as scandalised as Guanlin ever does.  
  
Jonghyun should have realised Seonho was about the only person they knew that would literally try and crawl into bed with them (with Minhyun).  
  
“That would have been a shame,” Seonho says cheerfully, sounding entirely insincere.  
  
Minhyun groans again.  
  
“I don’t suppose you’ll leave and let use sleep more if we ask nicely?” Jonghyun asks knowing that it’s futile.  
  
He becomes aware of someone laughing in the background, probably Seongwoo because it’s not Jaehwan’s distinctive laugh.  
  
“I don’t think Seonho is going to leave Minhyun for a while,”  Guanlin says slowly after a pause, like he’s taken the time to seriously consider the question.  
   
Jonghyun sits up.  
  
“Why are we all congregating in our room at,” Jonghyun glances at the clock and shakes his head, “Eight in the morning?”  
  
Minhyun is still doing his best to feign sleep as Seonho cuddles up behind him. Jonghyun tries not to laugh.  
  
“I’m just here for supervision,” Seongwoo shrugs, looking more relaxed than Jonghyun has seen him lately as he leans against the doorframe.  
  
The chicks have that effect on people.  
  
(Vaguely Jonghyun thinks they should probably stop calling them the chicks seeing as they’re both well and truly adults now but it’s been so long that it’s essentially a habit at this point).  
  
“Jaehwan said that you had a job you needed help with,” Guanlin tells him. For the first time Jonghyun notices he’s sitting on the desk in the room instead of the desk chair where Jonghyun had assumed he was.  
  
“You mean the casino heist? We’ve not exactly started that yet,” Jonghyun says in confusion. It’s too early for this, though he is more familiar with running on minimal sleep than any human being should be. The price of their career, of not having to hold a monotonous nine to five job, he supposes.  
  
“You mean our part hasn’t started yet,” Seonho speaks up, words muffled by the fact his face is still hidden in Minhyun’s shoulder, “You two have probably been at it for weeks.”  
  
“Not quite weeks,” Jonghyun corrects him, though that is true. Still there really is no need for transportation or their particular brand of acting yet so Jaehwan was probably just having a joke.  
  
“Jaehwan,” Jonghyun sighs with a shake of his head, “Was probably just pranking Minhyun.”  
  
“Oh,” Guanlin says, not looking particularly bothered by it.  
  
It’s as if the mention of his name had summoned him though because Jaehwan is suddenly there, peering round Seongwoo’s shoulder, “Is it safe?”  
  
“Minhyun’s still too lazy to come after you, if that’s what you mean,” Seongwoo says cheerfully, “I’d watch your back later.”  
  
“Actually, I got word from a contact that the FBI are closing in on Jinyoung, so I figured that we should probably go and collect him as soon as possible,” Jaehwan tells him indignantly.  
  
“It couldn’t have waited till this afternoon?” Jonghyun asks, feeling quite self conscious at the sheer number of bodies in his bedroom when he’s still barely awake.  
  
“Well, it probably could have,” Jaehwan shrugs shamelessly. It definitely could have, “But I figured that it’s a lot easier to get to Jinyoung now then risk it and have to break him out of prison.”  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun says, because there’s no point arguing about it now, “How about we move this conversation out of my room though?”  
  
“Well, I was enjoying watching you in bed,” Seongwoo says with a wicket grin (Jonghyun doesn’t even mind because he’s glad Seongwoo is in a better mood), “But if you insist.”  
   
“We insist,” Jaehwan says, grabbing Seongwoo’s arm to drag him out of the room, though Seongwoo could very much resist if he wanted.  
  
Guanlin follows their lead with a shrug and predictably Seonho and Minhyun both make no move to leave. In fact Jonghyun wouldn’t be surprised if they’d both fallen back to sleep.  
  
He gives them a minute as he changes out of his sleep clothes and into something slightly more presentable. They still don’t move.  
  
“Minhyun, are you coming?” Jonghyun asks when he reaches the doorway, “Or are you enjoying cuddle time with Seonho too much.”  
  
Seonho makes an over-exaggerated pleased noise. Jonghyun has to hide his laugh in his hand. Minhyun just throws a gesture that’s not exactly family friendly in his direction.  
  
Jonghyun takes that as a no.  
  
  
  
  
  
**Seven**  
  
Minhyun eventually does manage to drag himself out of bed and more surprisingly detach Seonho from his back, just as they’re discussing the best way to get to LA.  
  
“It’s apparently a four hour drive,” Jaehwan says, eyes glued to his phone, “It’s like an hour on a plane.”  
  
“But by the time you book the flight, get to the airport and go through the hassle of boarding you’ve probably wasted the time you saved in travel,” Seongwoo points out before Jonghyun gets the chance to. That’s his exact line of thinking.  
  
“You just really want to go on a road trip,” Jaehwan accuses Seongwoo.  
  
“Why would I want to be stuck in a car for an extended period with any of you?” Seongwoo shoots back straight away.  
  
“An enclosed space where people can’t escape you and your voice sounds twelve times louder. Sounds exactly like your kind of place,” Jaehwan says, Guanlin watching them as blank faced as always.  
  
“If we drive we can leave straight away,” Minhyun says, sitting himself on the arm of the chair Jonghyun is sitting in. Seonho, trailing behind him, looks like he’s seriously considering joining him before he shrugs and sits next to Seongwoo instead, “I’m not sure what the flight schedule is like, plus flying leaves a trail that I have to put effort into cleaning up.”  
  
“Dibs driving,” Seonho says raising his hand in the air like an obedient school kid.  
  
 Guanlin shrugs, looking entirely unbothered at missing out on driving an eight hour round trip.  
  
They don’t end up leaving ‘straight away’, even with the question of which of the chicks they’re taking with them sorted (it was never really a question).  
  
Instead they have to to find Jinyoung’s exact location, not an easy feat considering Jinyoung is much savvier at the whole erasing all traces of his digital presence thing than they are of tracking it.  
  
Eventually they have to call in a favour from Dongho who, of course, manages to track him down in less than ten minutes. After that busy jobs get assigned to Seongwoo (Minhyun is worried that if he stays idle he’ll do something stupid) and they’re off.  
  
Seonho spends the entire four hour drive chatting away about who knows what, Jonghyun honestly falls asleep at some point, waking up only once Minhyun shakes his shoulder to let him know they’ve reached their destination.  
  
Seonho pouts when Minhyun orders him to stay where he is, but does as he’s told, leaving Minhyun and Jonghyun to get out of the car and head towards the internet cafe Dongho had pointed them in the direction of.  
  
“I didn’t even know internet cafes were still a thing in America,” Minhyun mutters to Jonghyun as they push the door open.  
  
“I think it’s a gamer thing,” Jonghyun explains. He had his moment with video games as a teenager before his life kind of turned into one, though much more boring than any Grand Theft Auto or Mafia type heist.  
  
“Right,” Minhyun says skeptically, disapproval clear in his voice.  
  
Jonghyun is right though, with the rare exception of a few kids doing assignments, the screens they pass all show various video games. No one pays them any mind as they pass, too focused on fake guns and swearing at their screens.  
  
They find Jinyoung tucked away in a back corner, somehow managing to angle his screen so it can’t be seen until you’re directly behind him, a second laptop on the desk next to him.  
  
“Bae Jinyoung,” Minhyun says with a dramatic pause, “The FBI have been looking for you.”  
  
Jinyoung jumps, slamming the lid of the laptop shut. He takes a deep breath, shoulders so tense they’re up near his shoulders before he turns around.  
  
He looks up at them and recognition flickers across his face but he doesn’t relax. He does fix his gaze to the computer keyboard.  
  
“So I’ve heard,” Jinyoung says after an extended pause.  
  
“Well, in our professional opinion it would probably be in your best interests to move on,” Minhyun says. Jonghyun glances around to see if anyone is listening in but no one is paying them any attention, everyone in their vicinity has headphones jammed on their ears.  
  
“Did you track me down just to tell me that?” Jinyoung asks. The words should sound defiant but Jonghyun isn’t sure Jinyoung has ever sounded defiant in his life.  
  
“No,” Jonghyun jumps in before Minhyun says anything else, “We have a job, and we need some tech support,”  
  
“Was Kenta busy?” Jinyoung asks sounding confused more than offended. Jinyoung has always preferred to use his talents for your run of the mill hacking, sometimes selling information through Dongho, but only on the rare occasion did he work a heist.  
  
“Something like that,” Jonghyun concedes.  
  
“What is the job?” Jinyoung asks curiously, clicking around at something on his screen to avoid their eyes.  
  
“Risky. Bigger than anything we’ve pulled before,” Jonghyun tells him. He’s always trying to find the balance of giving people enough information to make an informed decision but not giving too many details away to those that might not end up being involved in the job.  
  
Not that Jinyoung of all people would ever double cross them.  
  
“Are you sure you want me for that?” Jinyoung asks.  
  
“Well, before Jonghyun tells you about that job, I have another job for you Jinyoung,” Minhyun says jumping in. Jonghyun has no idea where he’s going with this.  
  
“Are you testing me?” Jinyoung says. He’s still not looking either of them in the eyes but he’s confident enough to answer back, which is an improvement. Jonghyun can works with this.  
  
“Think of it like an audition,” Minhyun says smoothly, “A test of nerves if you will.”  
  
Oh, Jonghyun sees what he's doing. How clever.  
  
“What do you need me to do?” Jinyoung asks, looking up at them for the first time.  
  
The eye contact lasts all of five seconds but it’s something.  
  
“Well, we need some help finding a boy.”  
  
  
  
**Eight**  
  
  
A boy stands on a busy train, apparently minding his own business as the rush of commuters swarming around him pay him no attention. Why would they, he’s just a boy, a college student by the looks of itm bag on his back and phone in hand. Nothing worth glancing at twice.  
  
Except he’s not. As the two business men standing in front of him talk, loudly and obnoxiously, about the legs of a young woman sitting further up the train the boy is working. Slowly and expertly, using the natural sway of the train, he reaches into both their pockets and takes their wallets before depositing them in the side of his backpack.  
  
Neither of the men notice so the boy takes it further. First their phones, then their watches. Lastly, just because he can, when the train approaches the next curve he leans into one of the men, brushing up against him. He apologises sheepishly, the man glares but doesn’t respond, not noticing that the kid is reaching into his jacket pocket and removing two tickets.  
  
At the next station as the kid gets off the train a well dressed man brushes against him. It’s brief, barley an instant, but the kid has been doing this a long time. The man had swiped his hard earned prize from him. The boy doesn’t react, nods his head in apology and takes note of the direction the man is going. Waits a few seconds before following him up off the platform.  
  
He takes his jacket off, switches his hat and then bumps the man himself, murmuring an apology even as he removes the wallet from the man's pocket.  
  
Taking care not to bump anyone else he leaves the station, turns down a quiet side alley and reaches for his haul.   
  
Except they’re not there, not all of them. The phone and watches remain but the wallets and tickets are gone.  
  
In their place is a business card with a name and address printed on it.  
  
The boy frowns. Thinks about it.  
  
Turns on his heel and melts back into the crowd.  


* * *

  
  
“So, do you think he’ll show up?” Minhyun asks Jonghyun as they sit in the cafe, waiting to see if Park Jihoon takes the bait or not.  
  
“It’s hard to say,” Jonghyun shrugs, ripping the napkin on the table into small pieces, “Minki said he was cautious but proud and curious. I guess we’ll see which side wins out.”  
  
Minhyun pushes the wallet they stole from the kid away from him across the table and sighs, “If he doesn’t show?”  
  
“Then we approach him more directly,” Jonghyun says, grouping the ripped pieces of napkin into a pile.  
  
“This was entirely unnecessary, you’ve just been spending way too much time with Seongwoo,” Minhyun reminds him raising his cup of coffee to his mouth. He takes a pointed sip, “You’re turning into a drama queen.”  
  
“I think that might be from you,” Jonghyun tells him mildly, gesturing towards the coffee cup. Neither of them are actually dramatic people but he figured any protege of Minki’s must at least appreciate some flair.  
  
“Next time, you’re the one that’s sloppy on purpose,” Minhyun whispers, glancing over Jonghyun’s shoulder before straightening up.  
  
Jonghyun tuns and notices Park Jihoon in the doorway, eyes scanning the patrons before he spots the wallet. He looks up at them, stiffening when he notices them both, as if he’s deciding whether or not it’s a trap.  
  
Eventually his curiosity wins out and he approaches them.  
  
“Park Jihoon,” Minhyun says, gesturing in front of him “You’re a hard man to track down. Take a seat,”  
  
“Who are you?” Jihoon asks suspiciously, not taking the offered chair.  
  
“You got our card,” Minhyun tells him.  
  
“There’s two of you, there was one name on the card,” Jihoon says, guarded in every movement he makes.  
  
Jonghyun laughs, “I’m Jonghyun, that’s Minhyun,” He says gesturing entirely unnecessarily at Minhyun.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Jihoon says thoughtfully as he takes a seat, “I feel like I should know you.” He pauses, “What do you want?”  
  
“We have a job. Choi Minki gave us your name,” Minhyun answers for him as Jonghyun tries to get a feeling of who Jihoon is.  
  
“Jonghyun, you’re the idiot that ended up in prison because your heart’s too soft,” Jihoon says as if solving a riddle that had been alluding him. He pauses before he says, “Not that I think you’re an idiot but-”  
  
“But that’s what Minki said,” Jonghyun says with a smile. It sounds exactly like something Minki would say.  
  
“He also said you’re one of the best people he’s ever worked with,” Jihoon says, “Which is high praise from Minki. He doesn’t really like teams,” That also sounds like Minki.  
  
“We didn’t expect to find you working the subway,” Minhyun says judgmentally, trying to put Jihoon on the defensive.  
  
It doesn’t work, Jihoon just shrugs, “That wasn’t work that was practice,” he explains smoothly, “You’ve got to keep your skills sharp you know.”  
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun exchange a look, they’re both impressed. The kid is good. Not that they doubted Minki’s word but it’s different seeing it.  
  
Jonghyun wants him, “Do you want in?” he asks.  
  
“What’s the job?” Jihoon asks cautiously.  
  
Minhyun shakes his head, a final test, “You’re either in or your out. We need to know before we tell you details, you know how it is.”  
  
“Do I at least get to know where or is that a national secret as well?” Jihoon asks, managing to be both confident and deferential at the same time.  
  
Jonghyun is impressed with his manner, and his skills, but it does make his job harder. With most people he can get a general read on them in a few minutes, he’s not sure he’s got a measure on Jihoon yet.  
  
“I hear they call it America’s Playground,” Jonhyun says, nodding towards the wallet.  
  
Jihoon reaches towards it, opening it to find a plane ticket to Vegas inside.  
  
He looks up at them with a smile, “In. Definitely In.”  
  
  
  
  
**Nine, Ten**  
  
  
Woojin gets into Vegas a few days after they recruit Jihoon and they’re almost complete.  
  
He insists on meeting them at the Treasure Island Casino to introduce them to his greaseman friend. Neither Jonghyun nor Minhyun have any idea why, but they see no reason not to indulge him.  
  
The first thing he does upon seeing them is present them with tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show in permanent residency at the casino.  
  
“What’s this?” Minhyun asks him turning the ticket over.  
  
“A ticket,” Woojin tells them with a cheeky grin. He’s been spending too much time with Seongwoo.  
  
“Why are you giving us a ticket?” Jonghyun asks. He might have an idea, “I thought you wanted to introduce us to your friend.”  
  
“Well, Seongwoo told me that you’ve been testing the members of the team you haven’t worked with before,” Woojin answers them cheerfully, “So I thought I’d cut some time out and just introduce you to him through his work.”  
  
Of course Seongwoo told him.  
  
“We need a grease man Woojin not an acrobat,” Minhyun reminds him gently. You’d think the two would be pretty interchangeable but Jonghyun learned early on, the hard way, that a good acrobat doesn’t always make a good greaseman, and it’s not just a question of morals.  
  
“I know, just watch,” Woojin tells them as they take their seats.  
  
“Your friend is a performer with Cirque du Soleil, full time?” Jonghyun asks him carefully, just to clarify but well aware someone could overhear.  
  
“Well, not full time,” Woojin says sombrely. Minhyun has said Woojin had worked jobs with him in the past though surely nothing on this scale.  
  
“Is he not, recognisable around this city then?” Minhyun asks, worrywart that he is.  
  
Jonghyun can only assume he’s never seen a Cirque du Soleil performance before, “They wear such heavy make-up that their own mothers probably don’t recognise them.”  
  
Minhyun is still skeptical, Jonghyun can tell. It’s pretty obvious.  
  
“Just give him a chance,” Jonhyun tells him. Minhyun purses his lips but nods. Jonghyun steers the conversation away from the topic, there’s nothing they can do until they see Woojin’s friend in action, instead asking Woojin how he’s been. The usual small talk, extra small because they’re still in public.  
  
“Which one is your friend?” Jonghyun whispers to Woojin as the lights go down.  
  
“You’ll know,” Woojin responds (though he does point him out in the program).  
  
Ten minutes into the act Minhyun turns to Jonghyun. They nod in almost complete synchronisation, “We’ve found out greaseman,” Jonghyun whispers.  
  
Woojin grins  
  
  
  
  
**& A Half**  
  
  
“I think the job with Taehyun will be wrapped up in about two weeks, maybe three,” Sungwoon tells them over video link from Tokyo. Only Seongwoo, Minhyun and Jonghyun are present, Jaehwan is out exploring the sewer systems and Woojin has taken the chicks to see Mystere. Absently Jonghyun wonders how often he’s seen they show.  
  
“How long will it take you to get to Vegas then?” Jonghyun asks. Of course the travel time itself is standard but he doesn’t know how many loose ends Sungwoon might need to tie up, if any.  
  
“A couple of days after that?” Sungwoon says. Jonghyun doesn’t like the ambiguity of that and the look on Minhyun’s face says he doesn't either. Sungwoon is doing them a favour though and they really need him, so they don’t complain. They’ll just have to make the plan more flexible that they’re usually comfortable with.  
  
“How far along are you with the copies?” Minhyun asks, straight to the point.  
  
“I’ve started on the sketches for the work but I don’t want to risk trying to important any actual woodblocks,” Sungwoon tells them. It makes sense, Sungwoon has always been a cautious one, but it does push them even further back. They’re not running on a time limit, but it’s still less than ideal.  
  
The longer they take the higher their risk of being discovered.  
  
Sungwoon is the expert though so Jonghyun just nods, “Okay.”  
  
“Plus, I need someone to get in and send me details of Ahn’s collection,” Sungwoon tells them flippantly, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses.  
  
“Aren’t there pictures on the internet?” Seongwoo asks just when Jonghyun was beginning to think he’d tuned them out completely. Something about his posture is cautiously hopeful though and Jonghyun can’t imagine why that is (not that he’s giving it much through - he’s dedicating most of his energy to trying to decide who would be best to send in to get pictures).  
  
“This isn’t a one of a kind painting that’s been plastered all over the internet for everyone to see and study the details of,” Sungwoon explains in a huff, “It’s mokuhanga. A print. Hundreds were created from the same woodblock and every one is minutely different. If you want a good forgery I need to see the details of his versions.”  
  
“Okay, I get it. I’ll go get some pictures for you,” Seongwoo says sounding way too eager for Jonghyun to let him do it.  
  
“No, not yet,” Jonghyun tells him with a shake of his head. Seongwoo looks like he’s going to argue but a look from Minhyun stops him, “Can you wait a week or so?” Jonghyun asks Sungwoon.  
  
He nods, “Honestly it’s not my first priority right now.”  
  
“Understandable,” Minhyun says, they wouldn’t expect anything different. This is a favour, he was committed to the job with Taehyun first.  
  
“Alright, I’ll send Jihoon in once we get underway,” Jonghyun says with a nod of his head, making a note of that on the pad he carries around with him constantly.  
  
Sungwoon gives them a very detailed list of instructions for exactly what angles and details he needs, before he’s called away by Taehyun.  
  
Seongwoo wanders away after the video call ends and that leaves just him and Minhyun.  
  
“So, I don’t suppose we can put it off any longer,” Jonghyun says tapping his pen on the table, “We better get started,”  
  
“Yeah,” Minhyun says with a smile, “I don’t think you can plan it much longer before the kids start to get restless.”  
  
They have their eleven.  
  
It’s time to get them all together.  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quickish update because this isn’t exactly a proper full length chapter? In fact it’s actually super short and experiment. But everyone being so nice about the last chapter and specifically it being a bit quirky style wise kind of made me bold enough to try this.
> 
> So I’m thinking everyone couple of chapters there’ll be a mini chapter from not-jonghyun’s POV just to flesh everything out a bit more/give a bit of perspective/there are a couple of important things Jonghyun won’t see.
> 
> IDK I’ve been awake 26 hours so maybe I’ll decide the idea is stupid and drop it after some sleep.

Daehwi is not entirely sure what he’s gotten himself into.  
  
He’d blame Park Woojin for this, and outloud he does, but it’s probably not Woojin’s fault. Maybe, at a stretch, he could blame Youngmin. It was Youngmin after all who’d approached him after a show a few years ago and asked if he wanted to put his skills to better use.  
  
It was Youngmin that he worked his first and second and third jobs with. That third job introduced him to Woojin who he worked with on jobs four through to eight.  
  
It wasn’t Youngmin that made him cocky though. At some point Daehwi stopped working with the people he trusted, people he knew the skills of and started going after the big jobs. The jobs with the big payouts, the confident leaders, that built your reputation and fed your ego. The ones that required Daehwi to do riskier and stupider things.  
  
He thought he was showing off his skills but all he was doing was taking unnecessary risks.  
  
It took a terribly planned job with Ha Minho and thirteen hours being interrogated by the New Zealand police to set him straight and knock his ego down a peg or two.  
  
He swore off criminal activity, returned to the world of acrobatics and eventually got a coveted contract with Cirque du Soleil despite his little misadventure in New Zealand.  
  
It’s fine, it’s good. Daehwi is living the dream.  
  
Then he gets the call from Woojin.  
  
Technically speaking they’re not supposed to have their phones turned on backstage but everyone does it. Taking calls is less common, but as soon as Daehwi sees Woojin’s name he feels compelled to accept it, slipping away when everyone else is in make-up.  
  
“Daehwi, long time no speak,” Woojin says cheerfully. Too cheerfully.  
  
“It’s been awhile,” Daehwi agrees. He likes Woojin but his split from the life of an international criminal was complete, “How have you been?”  
  
“The same as always,” Woojin says vaguely. He doesn’t like talking on the phone. A pause, “I have a job."  
  
“I’m happy for you,” Daehwi says cagily. Usually the fact he’s perched on top of a discarded prop from an act removed from the show last year would mean there was no chance of being interrupted. When you’re surrounded by people that do ridiculous feats on a daily basis though nowhere is private.  
  
“The people I’m working with, they’re looking for a greaseman,” Woojin says.  
  
“Are you looking for a recommendation?” Daehwi asks, even though he knows that’s not what Woojin is asking, “Because I’m out of the game. I very much like not being in prison.”  
  
“Have you heard of Kim Jonghyun?” Woojin asks him, a non sequitur if Daehwi has ever heard one.  
  
“The main vocalist of Shinee?” Daehwi answers with the first thing that pops into his head. Woojin laughs.  
  
“I don’t think he’s a thief, though you never know,” Woojin says thoughtfully, “No the conman.”  
  
“Once or twice,” Daehwi says. Jonghyun is something of a myth among the Korean heist community (as Youngmin calls it). The stories go he can get any team to work together perfectly, that he’s never pulled a job that didn’t go off without a hitch.  
  
They have to be urban legends of course, no one is that flawless. People are people and tensions arise, throw in the inevitable ego of a thief and keeping a job on track is a risky business. Getting a job to go off without a hitch is an unheard of miracle.  
  
“He’s pulling a job there, in Vegas,” Woojin says ignoring Daehwi’s hesitance.  
  
“Here? He’s not stupid enough to try going after a casino is he?” Daehwi is as good as whispering now well aware that he’s currently in a casino and they take their security very seriously.  
  
Woojin’s silence is all the answer that he needs.  
  
Daehwi sighs, “Which one?” he asks because his curiosity needs to be satisfied.  
  
“The Echelon,” Woojin tells him.  
  
Daehwi straightens, “Ahn Junyoung’s place?”  
  
“The one and only,” Woojin tells him, something that Daehwi can’t quite identify in his voice, “Are you interested?”  
  
“I want that guy to get what’s coming to him,” Daehwi says after a long pause. He was sure he was done with that life, but the chance to pull one over Ahn is tempting. If anyone deserves a little misery it’s him.  
  
Then again the job will probably go on without him and he’d still get the satisfaction of watching him lose millions.  
  
“Good, because I kind of already told Jonghyun you were keen,” Woojin says completely shameless about the whole thing.  
  
“Woojin,” Daehwi says with a sigh, “I don’t know I can do it.”  
  
“Please, just meet with the guys, see what he has planned? They’ll let you walk away if you don’t want to do it,” Woojin says. Daehwi doesn’t remember Woojin being quite so persuasive before, or maybe he’s just easier to convince than he realises. Regardless he doesn’t think he’s ever heard of a leader letting someone walk away from a job they know the details of, not even Youngmin (though he hasn’t seen anyone try).  
  
“Fine, I’ll meet them but that’s it. No promises,” Daehwi tells him. He’s probably going to regret this.  
  
“Thank you,” Woojin says, sincerity clear in his voice.  
  
Daehwi isn’t sure what to say next, but thankfully he doesn’t have to figure it out because one of the make-up artists is calling for him and he really doesn’t want to get on the bad side of any of the staff.  
  
He begs off his call with Woojin and continues his day as usual, goes through with his two shows without problem, he could do his routines in his sleep. Goes home. Sleeps.  
  
It’s not until the next day, when Woojin sends him an email with details of the meeting and a whole string of smiling emojis that he starts to doubt himself.  
  
He doesn’t know any of these people and sure he trusts Woojin’s judgement but it’s not quite the same as knowing things about people. He knows Kim Jonghyun only by legend, and reaching out to Youngmin had let him know that both him and Donghyun were currently in Korea and not involved in this job at all.  
  
He was going to be outnumbered in an unfamiliar environment with people who probably all knew each other.  
  
Not the ideal situation.  
  
He’s seriously considering pulling out, only loyalty to Woojin keeping him from doing so. Apparently someone out there has a sixth sense about these things.  
  
The day before the meet up when Daehwi’s doubts are at their highest a manila envelope is slid under his door. He opens it, unsure what it could possible be, to find pictures of nine men. Each picture has a name and a job title written under it, and there’s a little drawing of what Daehwi can only assume is meant to be Woojin holding a question mark.  
  
There’s a post-it-note as well, stuck over the face of one Hwang Minhyun. ‘To level the playing field’ it reads, nothing to signify who it came from.  
  
Something about that sets Daehwi slightly more at ease, at least until he finds himself sitting in the living room some obnoxiously overpriced mansion, pressed tightly into Woojin’s side as a merry band of criminals bicker with each other.  
  
It’s overwhelming, to say the least, and Daehwi spends half his life backstage of a huge Vegas production.  
  
Woojin, for all his bluster on the phone, isn’t actually talking that much either a sure sign of his discomfort. Maybe he doesn’t know all these guys like Daehwi had assumed. Maybe he just has that much faith in Kim Jonghyun.  
  
No one is really talking to Daehwi, but he doesn’t mind, wouldn’t know what to say to anyone. Instead he takes the opportunity to observe the room, more glad for his little cheat sheet than ever. There’s Seongwoo standing in the corner arguing quietly with Minhyun, a frantic desperation thrumming through his body.  
  
It makes Daehwi hesitant, he’s worked with guys like that before and they almost always end up loose canons.  
  
Park Jihoon is standing a little way away from the others, observing the room in much the same way that Daehwi is, clearly another new addition. Bae Jinyoung is in the chair in front of him, laptop balanced precariously on the arm. Daehwi has only seen Jinyoung talk to Jihoon and Jonghyun so far, no one else.  
  
On the other hand Seonho has not stopped talking, chatting away to Jaehwan on his left and bickering with Guanlin on his right. Every now and then he stops his conversations to call out to Minhyun who always answers him with an exasperated smile.  
  
Daehwi is so busy with his observations, trying to get a read on everyone, that he doesn’t notice the one person missing until he’s sitting down in front of Daehwi.  
  
“Lee Daehwi, it’s nice to meet you,” He says, holding his hand out to shake. Daehwi does so, exchanging meaningless pleasantries.  
  
“Woojin took us to see your show the other day,” Jonghyun says, looking over to Woojin who is suddenly engrossed in a conversation with Jaehwan, “We were very impressed.”  
  
“Thank you,” Daehwi says with a nod of his head, “But you know a good acrobat doesn’t always make a good greaseman.”  
  
“I know,” Jonghyun says with a secretive little smile, “And the fact that _you_ know that probably means you're both.”  
  
“Not that I’m trying to downplay my own skills, because I’m pretty good at what I do,” Daehwi says, causing Jonghyun to laugh, it’s a nice sound, “But you’ve seen me perform once in a controlled environment.”  
  
“Woojin and Youngmin have nothing but good things to say about you,” Jonghyun says, glancing at Woojin. It’s hard to miss the dusting of red on the top of his ears.  
  
“This is a big job, or so I hear,” Daehwi says. He doesn’t know what he’s trying to achieve here but he feels compelled to point it out his lack of experience to Jonghyun, “Surely you know someone with more experience.”  
  
“It’s not about experience, it’s about getting a team that you can trust to work well together,” Jonghyun says, lowering his voice like he’s confiding a secret in Daehwi, “If some of the best guys I’ve worked with trust you, then you’re to be trusted.” He says as if that settles that.  
  
“I guess,” Daehwi says. It sounds reluctant, but it’s not. He’s thinking about it, because the legend of Kim Jonghyun makes a lot more sense now. It’s not about him keeping teams together, it’s the fact that he picks the right team.  
  
It’s like he’s reassured Daehwi in a single sentence that his biggest issues with the way this whole world works aren’t going to be an issue with this team.  
  
His resolve wavers.  
  
Jonghyun smiles at him like he can read exactly what Daehwi is thinking,  “If you don’t want to do the job, if you’re reluctant for any reason, obviously we won’t make you. You can walk away at any point. Though really it would be a bit inconvenient if you walked away mid job so if you’re considering it please do it now.”  
  
Daehwi doesn’t know what it is since the words themselves are nothing particularly inspiring. It must be Kim Jonghyun himself, because whilst he still has his doubts about the job he wants in.  
  
“I, can’t promise that if it goes south I’ll stick around,” Daehwi tells him honestly, self preservation has always been his greatest instinct, “But I want to help.”  
  
Jonghyun holds out a hand, “Welcome to the team then Lee Daehwi."  
  
Daehwi shakes his hand and then Jonghyun is standing up. He drifts over to chat to Minhyun for a few seconds before clearing his throat.  
  
It’s hardly a loud sound, but everyone in the room stops talking immediately and looks towards him.  
  
“Okay, now that everyone is fed and watered and acquainted,” he says looking at Jihoon, still in the corner of the room, and then Daehwi himself, “We can get started.”  
  
“Are you going to make us do team bonding exercises Jonghyun?” Jaehwan asks with a sarcastic smile, “Because if you are I’m out.”  
  
“Like you would walk away,” Seongwoo scoffs from his position still standing with Minhyun and therefore just behind Jonghyun.  
  
“No, I’m pretty sure I would,” Jaehwan shoots back. Daehwi’s barely been here an hour and already those two seem to have a lot of tension, constantly snipping at each other. He wonders what that’s about, though no one else seems particularly bothered by it.  
  
“No one is doing any team bonding exercises,” Minhyun tells them with a measured sigh, “The job itself should be enough for that.”  
  
“That’s dramatic,” Woojin mutters to Daehwi under his breath. Daehwi tries not to laugh.  
  
“Just, put us out of our misery, tell us what they job is,” Seonho interjects before smiling angelically, “Please?”  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun says so cheerfully that Daehwi’s surprised he didn’t clap his hands like a school teacher, “If you’ll follow me,” he says turning on his heel and walking into the next room.  
  
As everyone gets up to follow him someone, Daehwi doesn’t know who yet, mutters, “I bet he has a whole presentation set up, A Powerpoint and interactive worksheets and everything.”  
  
Daehwi hides a laugh into his hand. Maybe this team will work out.  
  
He hopes it will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter actually moves the plot nowhere but it _is_ important for setting a few little things up, so like it’s more like a little interlude than chapter? ’ll be back with a proper chapter in a couple of days because like I said the next chapter was actually half written before the last chapter I just keep adding unnecessary shit :3 (Like huge ass justification authors notes im a mess)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it’s probably pretty evident from the way I’ve been writing but I thought I should probably explicitly mention it just in case: Everyone in this fic has been aged up about 8 years? So they’re all the same relative to each other (eg 2Hyun and Seongwoo are all the same age) but there aren’t like 15 year olds running around committing crimes (P sure the chicks aren’t even old enough to drive) or barely 22 year old criminal masterminds.

  
  
  
Without fail Jonghyun’s least favourite part of any big job that requires more than three of four people is getting everyone together for the first time.  
  
Firstly there’s that moment when everyone’s still getting a feel for each other, that anxiety inducing stretch where he holds his breathe and hopes that there’s no personality clashes or major issues that will derail everything (and the resulting satisfaction when he watches everything click into place).  
  
What’s more intimidating in spades is presenting his plan for the first time.  
  
No matter how many times he does it, how much Minhyun reassures him that he wouldn’t actually let him develop a plan that was stupid or overly ambitious, he still feels the curl of dread in his stomach, the rising panic that everyone will think his plan is stupid or ridiculous.  
  
Right now as he stands in front of eight expectant faces, Minhyun sitting behind him, he feels that crushing feeling stronger than ever.  
  
Not only does he have people he’s never worked with before and doesn’t know the limits of, he also has teammates that are wary of each other and then there’s Seongwoo. Add on top of that his most ambitious and risky plan to date and he feels a little bit like turning on his heel and bolting from the room.  
  
But he’d never do that to a team he’s pulled together, waste their time like that, and he’s already made his promises to Boa. So he swallows the feeling down, pulls himself together and begins to talk.  
  
He smiles, “Welcome to Vegas gentleman, I think we can all figure out why I’ve called you here,”  
  
“Because you have a job,” Seongwoo interjects with a shit eating grin on his face, in one of those attention seeking moods of his.  
  
“What is the job though?” Jihoon asks from where he’s sitting cross legged towards the back of the room, the first time Jonghyun thinks he’s heard him speak tonight, “Are you always this dramatic?”  
  
The rest of the room, except Daehwi who still looks hesitant, laughs. Jonghyun shakes his head with a smile, “No, but I figured you’d all have questions and concerns so it was better to just address you all at once.”  
  
Half of them know their target, the other half don’t explicitly. They’re in Vegas though, so everyone must have at least considered the possibility.  
  
“Echelon Place is your typical Vegas Casino resort, located on the strip, owned by Korea’s favourite business man Ahn Junyoung,” Jonghyun says sarcastically, gesturing to the photo of the casino on the tv monitor behind him for reference purposes.  
  
“Since when is Ahn operating in casinos? I thought he was too busy lining the pockets of the Choi administration?”  
  
“Well, apparently he’s using casinos now to generate that money, I’m sure we’ll see the Echelon Macau within a few years,” Seongwoo says with a role of his eyes. He really has something against Ahn.  
  
“Not if we pull this off,” Jonhyun says with a smile, “The target, as I’m sure you’ve gathered is the Echelon.”  
  
“Wait , wait, if you’re waiting for all of us together what about Sungwoon?” Seonho interjects, looking around the room as if noticing Sungwoon isn’t here for the first time even though they all know that Sungwoon isn’t coming until later, “Is he going to call in?”  
  
“He’s busy at the moment,” Minhyun says diplomatically. Sungwoon’s actual words had been something along the lines of he had better things to do with his day then listen to a bunch of kids talking over each other, “and he won’t be coming over for another ten days, but we’ve filled him in on his part, he’s doing what he can from Japan.”  
  
“Okay,” Seonho nods, never one to argue with Minhyun. He doesn’t look particularly mollified by the explanation though.  
  
“What are we stealing?” Jihoon asks, getting them back on track, “Specifically.”  
  
“We have two targets,” Jonghyun says. He barely even knows Jihoon but his no nonsense attitude when it comes to his work is nice, a little bit of a change around here though undeniably the boys are all the best at their jobs, “Obviously we’re hitting the vault. Nevada law says that a casino must keep in reserve, not only every chip in play on the floor, but the total amount advertised on all slot machines and all the payments that the casino owes to previous winners.”  
  
Someone lets out a low whistle.  
  
“That’s a lot of cash to move,” Woojin says quietly. Cash robberies are tricky, usually they go for artwork or jewellery, assets that are smaller in size are generally easier to conceal.  
  
“It’s a lot of cash,” Jonghyun agrees with a nod of his head.  
  
“It can’t be easy to get into the vault of a vegas casino,” Jinyoung says, fingers twitching nervously, “Their security has got to be high tech.”  
  
“It is,” Jonghyun says, nodding again.  
  
“There are probably guns,” Seonho interjects helpfully, looking way to excited at the possibility of being shot.  
  
“We’re in America dummy,” Guanlin scoffs, elbowing his partner in the side, “There are guns everywhere.”  
  
“It’s a big risk for big rewards,” Seongwoo shrugs as if it’s no big deal to him. As if the nervous energy isn’t coiled tightly through his body, so obvious that anyone who knows him well can see it.  
  
“It’s going to be hard, security is no joke, but if we do our surveillance and work together and stick to the plan we can get it done,” Jonghyun says, trying not to get distracted by the way Minhyun is trying not to laugh.  
  
Seongwoo also looks like he’s biting back a facetious comment.  
  
“The advantage we have,” Jonghyun says, leaning against the table behind him, “Is that Ahn doesn’t exactly do things by the book. Which means he’s not going to want any sort of police investigation anywhere near his operation. Getting in and out is going to be a hassle and if his men catch us it won’t be pretty, but we shouldn’t be troubled with any legal issues.”  
  
“So we might die or end up with broken limbs, but at least we won’t end up in jail?” Jaehwan interjects dryly, “That’s reassuring.”  
  
“Interesting that you place broken limbs as worse than death,” Seongwoo tells Jaehwan with a skeptical look.  
  
Jaehwan flips Seongwoo off, “Be quiet Seongwoo, Jonghyun was just about to tell us what the second target of the plan was, weren’t you Jonghyun?” he smiles sweetly.  
  
Jonghyun wasn’t but he can, “Ahn likes to think of himself of somewhat a purveyor of culture,” he starts to explain.  
  
“When he’s really just a tacky fucker,” Minhyun mutters underneath his breath, just loud enough so only Jonghyun and Seongwoo can hear him. Jonghyun tries not to laugh.  
  
“The property is 87 acres, we could probably spend the rest of out careers pilfering this place, but Ahn’s vanity project, his most prized gallery is the Northern Hemispheres largest collection of Hokusai prints,” Jonghyun explains, flashing up to pictures of the gallery.  
  
“We’re going to pull off an art heist and a vault robbery at the same time?” Seonho asks sounding both exited and apprehensive.  
  
“Sounds insane,” Daehwi says quietly to Woojin. He’s not wrong.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun says. He’s not going to tell them they need the art theft in order to fund the vault theft as per his deal with Boa. They don’t need to know that, they just need to know he has a plan, “It probably is.”  
  
A sort of distracted mummer breaks out then, and Jonghyun feels like he’s losing them. Losing their trust and control of the situation, this job might just crash and burn before it even starts.  
  
Thank goodness for Minhyun who can always read Jonghyun’s apprehensions, or so it feels.  
  
“Do you want to hear the plan or not?” he asks the room at large with a raised eyebrow. That’s all it takes for the grumbles to die down. Everyone pays close attention as Jonghyun spends the next hour going over the outline of the plan in painstaking detail, making sure everyone is on the same page and has no objections to the overall look of the plan though they need to hammer out the finer details as they get more information.  
  
Once he’s finally finished there’s a sort of hush around the room.  
  
“Well,” Jaehwan says when it becomes clear no one else is going to talk (Jonghyun kind of never wants to hear the sound of his own voice ever again), “That, might just work.”  
  
“It makes perfect sense, but maybe that’s just Jonghyun’s charisma,” Seonho says, which Jonghyun is going to take as a compliment.  
  
“So, now that you know the plan, and the stakes, you can walk away,” Jonghyun says, always wanting to give people the choice.  
  
There’s another pause, as everyone sort of exchanges looks with each other, a tangible sense of excitement growing.  
  
“Daehwi looks like he has something to share with the class,” Minhyun whispers into Jonghyun’s ear as they give the others a minute to discuss.  
  
“I noticed,” Jonghyun said. Daehwi had the least to offer in their discussions so far, only speaking up when directly asked a question about his capabilities. He seems wary, mistrustful, more than shy so Jonghyun can only assume he’ll open up more.  
  
“I give him four days,” Minhyun says consideringly.  
  
“Two,” Jonghyun counters quietly. They shake on it.  
  
“So,” Minhyun says, raising his voice as he speaks over Jonghyun’s shoulder to the room at large, “Who’s in?”  
  
Eight shoot into the air.  
  
Jonghyun finally lets himself smile.

* * *

  
  
  
  
**STAGE ONE: RECONNAISSANCE**

  
  
  
  
Jinyoung, without a doubt has the most work to do in the initial reconnaissance stage of the plan. There’s a lot of discussion around him, there are members of the team that are hesitant to give him so much to do so early whilst Minhyun backs him.  
  
Jonghyun is of the belief that it’s better than he collapses under the pressure now rather than later. Plus things need done there’s no way around it.  
  
Once everyone is off doing their own bits and pieces he still sits down with him to make sure his list of tasks is achievable.  
  
“Are you here to supervise me?” Jinyoung asks, barely looking up from his laptop. He’s sitting at the desk in the study of the house they’re staying at, it belongs to friend of a friend of Boa. In a couple of days they’ll start checking into the hotels at Echelon but for now they’re still mainly based out of the house (with the exception of Jihoon who is currently shadowing Ahn to learn every detail of his schedule).  
  
“If you need supervision we have a problem,” Minhyun says from the corner of the room. His eyes, as always, are glued to his phone but Minhyun like to be in the presence of people when he’s working even if they don’t say two words to each other.  
  
“I don’t need supervision,” Jinyoung says, almost petulantly.  
  
“Well good, I have better things to do with my time,” Jonghyun tells him taking a seat next to him, “I actually have a few things I need you to do before we can get the others off on their jobs.”  
  
“I’m not setting up fakes for ten people,” Jinyoung says warningly.  
  
“Everyone has their own fakes,” Jonghyun reassures him, not missing the way Jinyoung relaxes just slightly at the words. He doesn’t mention if they needed fakes in a squeeze they would go to Hyunbin, certainly not to Jinyoung.  
  
“Alright, hit me,” Jinyoung says. Though his words are confident he’s still not looking at Jonghyun.  
  
“Firstly we need to get Woojin records of employment at another Vegas casino, any casino,” Jonghyun explains.  
  
“Which one?” Jinyoung asks, typing frantically away on his laptop.  
  
“It doesn’t matter. None of the MGM ones or anything but not a small one,” Jonghyun says, trying to think of what he knows about the Casino’s around here. Not a lot, he’s been focusing on Ahn’s operation more than his competition.  
  
“Try the Linq,” Minhyun interjects.  
  
Jinyoung looks to Jonghyun, as if Jonghyun is ever going to contradict Minhyun. He shrugs “works for me.”  
  
“Okay,” Jinyoung nods, looking back to his computer. Jonghyun assumes it’s going to take Jinyoung a little while, but he’s barely managed to get his phone out to check in with the chicks in their vehicle acquisition search, when the clicking of computer keys that had filled the room stops.  
  
“Alright?” Jonghyun asks Jinyoung, wondering if they’ve hit a snag already.  
  
“Yeah, I’m done,” Jinyoung says, like it’s no big deal though he’s still not looking up from his computer screen “What’s next.”  
  
Jonghyun ignores the smug smile Minhyun is sporting to blink at Jinyoung, surprised once again how at odd his skills and demeanour are.  
  
Jonghyun smiles, perhaps Jinyoung really was the best choice after all, “Well, how easy would it be to imbed a camera in a painting?”  
  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Jonghyun was right, it takes Daehwi a little over two days to approach him about whatever had been on his mind since the initial briefing ( Honestly Jonghyun feels like it might have been quicker and that Daehwi was just waiting to get Jonghyun alone - Minhyun seems to intimidate him).  
  
Daehwi looks both nervous and resolved as he catches Jonghyun on his way out to the Echelon.  
  
“What’s up Daehwi?” Jonghyun smiles, trying to make him seem comfortable.  
  
“I’ve got a show in a couple of hours, do you think you could give me a lift since you’re heading that way?” Daehwi asks.  
  
“Sure, no worries,” Jonghyun says since clearly Daehwi needs need for actual privacy.  
  
It’s not until they’re well on their way that Daehwi actually speaks though, staring out the window as he talks, “You know, I’m sure you do you’ve done a lot of research, how Ahn was trying to get his own Cirque du Soleil show?” Daehwi eventually asks, voice carefully conversational.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun nods, they’d realise that early, had considered playing with it but ditched it for logistical reasons, “But he’s pissed off the founders and there’s no way that’s going to happen.”  
  
“Yeah, except he’s not ditched his idea for a circus themed show, he’s trying to get one of his own started,” Daehwi explains. He sounds completely sure, like it’s first hand knowledge.  
  
“Is he?” Jonghyun asks just to prod him along.  
  
“ Yeah, he’s been approaching a couple of us to try and get us in talks. From what I’ve heard he’s approached artists from all the Cirque shows along the strip,” Daehwi explains looking to Jonghyun with a smile, “Is that helpful?”  
  
Jonghyun laughs, “I think you know that’s helpful.”  
  
“Well, all knowledge about a mark is helpful,” Daehwi says with a laugh of his own, before a frown darkens his face, “at least that’s what Youngmin says, and Youngmin’s basically the only competent leader I’ve worked with.”  
  
Jonghyun hums in acknowledgement, turning an idea over in his head, but clearly Daehwi misinterprets his meaning because he rushes to add, “So far, I mean you listen to input so you’re already better than pretty much everyone else I’ve worked with except Youngmin.”  
  
“I’ll take that compliment,” Jonghyun says, before asking “Is he after any artists in particular or is he trying to get specific people?”  
  
“He’s approached pretty much all the Koreans and a lot of the Japanese and Chinese guys,” Daehwi says after a second of thought, “He’s more persistent with some than others, artists I guess he considers big draw cards,”  
  
“Would you happen to be one of those?” Jonghyun can’t help asking. He hopes so.  
  
“Well, I’ve not been approached as often as my friend Somi, she works over at O she’s amazing, but he’s been pretty persistent, since I am pretty good” Daehwi said sounding immensely proud of himself. He has every right to be.  
  
“So he wants you, he knows who you are?” Jonghyun says just to clarify.  
  
“Oh yeah, I guess so,” Daehwi frowns as if the thought is just occurring to him, “I probably should have mentioned earlier right?”  
  
He should have since whole sections of the plan might need rearranged now. But it hasn’t caused any issues yet, it might make the plan easier, so no harm no foul. He’s glad Minhyun isn’t around right now though.  
  
“It’s okay, at least you’ve mentioned it now,” Jonghyun says because there’s no time for that now, “But how open are you to having further talks with Ahn about his offer?”  
  
“I’d rather stick pins in my eyes, and do my act blind” Daehwi says dryly, it paints a vivid picture, “But I could at least take a meeting I suppose, if it’s to rob him blind.”  
  
Jonghyun is more than pleased with this development, though probably Jinyoung isn’t going to be when Jonghyun asks him to change the records for Woojin they created yesterday.  
  
It’s going to be worth it though, the details are slotting into place and things are aligning positively for them.  For now.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Despite the fact that they’re fully committed to the job and they can’t possibly back out now, Jonghyun still worries about Seongwoo.  
  
It’s hard not to worry about him, anyone who has ever met Seongwoo before would be able to see that he’s not exactly in the best place right now. There’s a restless energy underlying everything that he does, a tightly coiled spring or a ticking time bomb.  
  
The closer they get to really setting this job into motion the more unpredictable and unsteady he becomes. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out he’s got some sort of motivation for this job he’s not telling them. It was obvious the second he proposed the job.  
  
It’s obvious what it’s about.  
  
Clearly Minhyun is of the same opinion because he announces to Jonghyun one day, pulling himself onto the bathroom counter, “It’s got to be Daniel hasn’t it?”  
  
“Minhyun I’m in the shower,” Jonghyun says, sticking his head out from behind the shower curtain to glare.  
  
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before,” Minhyun tells him with a grin before his expression goes serious again.  
  
“Still, can we not discuss this at literally any other time?” Jonghyun can’t help but ask.  
  
“Well, the bathroom is about the only place that we can be sure someone isn’t going to come and interrupt us,” Minhyun says with a pointed look at the door. There are some personal boundaries even Seonho won’t cross and thought bathroom seems to be about the only one they’ve found.  The rest of the house has people coming and going at all hours.  
  
“Fine,” Jonghyun sighs, turning the water off. He’ll have to cut his shower short today, “hand me a towel,”  
  
“What if I don’t want to?” Minhyun asks with a cheeky grin. Not exactly the time.  
  
“I’m not talking about Seongwoo’s love life whilst naked Minhyun,” Jonghyun tells him with a put upon sigh, “Or Seongwoo in general actually.  
  
“Fine,” Minhyun says with an expression that would be best described as a pout despite the fact Minhyun claims he doesn’t pout.  
  
He hands the towel over and watches as Jonghyun dries himself off before he says, “so Daniel,”  
  
“Seongwoo’s reason for this job has got to be Daniel,” Jonghyun says with a nod, knowing exactly what Minhyun is talking about, “But I’m not entirely sure how.”  
  
“Last I heard, which is before he went off the grid mind you, he was working at Leeum,” Minhyun offers. Jonghyun remembers, Daniel had worked hard for years to get to the point where he was offered a job at a prestigious art gallery.  
  
“I don’t think he’s there anymore at the very least,” Jonghyun says, readjusting the towel around his waist, the thought that something had caused Daniel to give up his dream like that though was not a pleasant one, “If he was Seongwoo would know where he was.”  
  
“How do we know Seongwoo doesn’t know where he is?” Minhyun asks.  
  
“He’s here not wherever Daniel is,” Jonghyun answers dryly, he thought that was pretty self explanatory.  
  
“Well, we could ask Dongho to track him down, just to be sure?” Minhyun asks. The tone of his voice indicates he doesn’t really want to.  
  
Jonghyun shakes his head, “Daniel clearly doesn’t want to be found by any of us so we should respect his wishes.”  
  
“There’s no reason for him to possibly be here,” Minhyun says, probably to convince himself as much as to convince Jonghyun.  
  
“Maybes Daniel was into Hokusai or ukiyo-e, I never really talked to him about his job?”  
  
“No me neither,” Jonghyun shakes his head answering the unasked question. It seemed wrong somehow to talk to Daniel about his job when you considered their job. He never wanted to get Daniel is any sort of trouble with the law, not even suspicion.  
  
“Well, maybe that was his area of expertise,” Minhyun suggests before he pauses, “although maybe he just liked the octopus porn?” Sometimes even Jonghyun has no idea what Minhyun is talking about and this is one of those times.  
  
“So your theory is Seongwoo was going to go off script and steal the prints at first in an attempt to woo Daniel back, which is why he was so excited when Boa requested we steal them as well because it makes it easier for him?” Jonghyun says slowly, it seems likely but something about it doesn’t quite sit right. Nothing about Seongwoo’s current behaviour sits right.  
  
“It makes the most sense,” Minhyun says, though he doesn’t sound convinced either. It’s also the best possible scenario, since it’s not going to require Seongwoo going rouge on them.  
  
“Should we, let the kids know to keep an eye out for Daniel?” Jonghyun asks, worrying his lip between his teeth, “Just in case?”  
  
“They might ask questions though,” Minhyun says mirroring Jonghyun’s expression, “And we don’t want anyone to doubt his reliability.”  
  
“Except us of course?” Jonghyun says. He’s mostly teasing, he still trusts Seongwoo a hundred percent, he’s just concerned for him.  
  
“It’s our job,” Minhyun dismisses with a wave of his hand.  
  
“Maybe, we tell the kids that don’t know Daniel to let us know if they see him?” Jonghyun says, turning his options over in his head, “Imply that he’s a rival or someone we’ve got bad blood with?”  
  
“That could work,” Minhyun says with a nod, and then continues Jonghyun’s train of thought, “And the guys like Jaehwan that do know Daniel would probably tell us if they happened across him anyway.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun sighs, “I don’t like not knowing.” There’s a lot of variables for this job that are not entirely controlled, more than Jonghyun is comfortable with.  
  
“But your morals won’t let you dig too deep,” Minhyun says with a fond smile, reaching out to tap Jonghyun on the side of the head “So if you’re not going to ask Dongho for help then you have to deal with not knowing.”  
  
“Could you please be less rational for five minutes?” Jonghyun asks Minhyun playfully.  
  
Minhyun taps his finger on his chin like he’s thinking about it before he shakes his head, “Nah, this place would fall apart in less than five minutes.”  
  
Jonghyun can’t argue with that but as if to prove Minhyun’s point there’s a knock on the bathroom door. Minhyun gives Jonghyun a ‘told you so’ look before he calls out, “What is it?”  
  
“I don’t know what you two are doing in there but Jaehwan just accidentally shorted out the power of the entire street, and Jinyoung kind of looks like he’s about to lose his shit,” Woojin calls through the door sounding resigned. It’s a bit like that.  
  
“Give us five minutes,” Minhyun calls back rolling his eyes at Jonghyun.  
  
Still despite the clean up they’re going to have to do to make sure no one realises they shorted the power Jonghyun still feels like the conversation isn’t done.  
  
“How long do you think Seongwoo is going to be like this?” Jonghyun asks Minhyun when he’s finally dressed. It’s exhausting and as much as he cares for Seongwoo he doesn’t think he can spend the rest of his life cleaning up his messes.  
  
“Well Daniel seems determined this time for whatever reason,” Minhyun’s right there, the longest they’ve ever broken up in the past was two months and now it’s been almost a year,  “so a reconciliation isn’t likely, which means we’ve got to hope he get’s over it.”  
  
“If he doesn’t?” Jonghyun asks. There’s got to be more here than a break up because no relationship, not even a five year one, should cause someone as put together and composed as Seongwoo to become so unstable.  
  
“Well, we’ve got to look out for each other above all else right?” Minhyun asks reaching out to grab Jonghyun’s hand. They both know what he’s implying nothing more needs said.  
  
"Yeah," he says because he knows it's what Minhyun wants to hear. When it comes down to it though it's been him and Seongwoo for a very long time, he's not sure he could ever leave him.   
  
Still it shouldn’t come to that, Jonghyun will do anything in his power to make sure it doesn’t come to that.  
  
He hangs his hopes on the fact that since this job has started Seongwoo has seemed a bit more stable, a little bit happier.  
  
When they leave their room to assess the damage Jaehwan has caused  they find Seongwoo is managing to both laugh at Jaehwan and co-ordinate the chicks into getting rid of the device Jaehwan had been working on in case anyone decides to investigate. It makes Jonghyun feel like maybe his hope isn’t misplaced.  
  
 Maybe Seongwoo will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take it back the Boa scene wasn’t the hardest to write the first scene of this was! But we’re up to the fun stuff now :)
> 
> There was an Ocean’s trilogy marathon on the tele this evening and I got home just as 11 was finishing in time for 12, which sums up my day brilliantly xD


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least 50% of this chapter was brought to you by 2 litres of tea, sleep deprivation, many CSI episodes and one song from EXOs new album on repeat. I feel like that deserves a warning xD
> 
>  
> 
> I did read this over four times before posting though so hopefully it's not as messy as last chapter which I will fix tomorrow morning.

Under Seongwoo’s direction they manage to get the mess with blown electricity sorted. Kind of. No one suspects that they were the source of the problem after the chicks manage to ditch the device that Jaehwan was working on into an empty summer home down the road from them.  
  
Jaehwan had done a number on the street though, damaged the electricity infrastructure. It takes the council four days to get the power up and running.  
  
In the meantime Jonghyun gets half of them into the casino. Woojin, good friends with Lee Daehwi the Cirque du Soleil performer, is personally ’persuaded’ by Ahn’s right hand man to defect to the Echelon after he was overheard voicing his displeasure at the hours he was forced to work at Treasure Island.  Jihoon has been booked in as a guest for the past few weeks to allow him to shadow Ahn.  
  
Guanlin and Seonho had checked into a suite yesterday, rich college kids on vacation at their parents expense, to their eager excitement. Jinyoung was moving between their suite and the nearby motel Jaehwan had been banished to out of fear he draw anymore attention to their street.  
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun are due to check in as drunk newlyweds in a couple of evenings and Daehwi was still in play as himself over at the Treasure Island.  
  
Which leaves Seongwoo.  
  
Seongwoo who was taking way too much joy out of the prospect of setting himself up as a big target, a rich chaebol heir with too much money and not enough sense.  
  
Woojin and Jonghyun sit side by side on one of the ridiculously lavish couches of the high end tailors shop, watching as Seongwoo parades around the show room, preening under the compliments of the shop assistants.  
  
Jonghyun’s pretty sure he’s not even in pretending to be in character.  
  
“How come Seongwoo gets to be the rich kid and I have to be the staff,” Woojin asks, amusement clear in his voice.  
  
“Because you presumably have valuable skills and all Seongwoo knows how to do is look pretty and be arrogant,” Someone drawls from behind them.  
  
Jonghyun leans his head backwards in order to see the person and smiles, “Hyuna, Seongwoo didn’t tell us that you would be joining us.”  
  
She shrugs, “Well we all know how Seongwoo is, he needs someone to walk him through every detail of an alias before he uses it and I too much work into this one to let him burn it that easily.”  
  
“You put the work in or Hui did?” Jonghyun can’t help asking her with a cheeky smile. He gets a gentle knock to the head in retaliation.  
  
“Respect your elders Jonghyun,” she tells him.  
  
Woojin beside him kind of looks like like a deer in headlights. Hyuna can be intimidating at first glance Jonghyun supposes, though really she’s a sweetheart.  
  
That’s about when Seongwoo spots her, “Hyuna,” He calls face lighting up with a smile, “You’re here.”  
  
“To make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” she tells him though her smile undercuts her words.  
  
“Don’t waste your time,” Jonghyun tells her. It’s a very Minhyun thing to say but Minhyun isn’t here so Jonghyun has to say it for him.  
  
Seongwoo pulls a face at him but doesn’t comment because Hyuna is bounding over to him to give him a hug.  
  
“You’ve gotten more handsome Ong Seongwoo,” She tells him with a flirtatious smile.  
  
“And you’re as lovely as ever Kim Hyuna,” he flirts right back.  
  
Jonghyun tunes the two of them out as they catch up up each other. Seongwoo and Hyuna are two of the most naturally flirtatious people he knows and listening to them talk can be, awkward to say the least.  
  
“You know Kim Hyuna?” Woojin whispers, though judging by the way Hyuna smiles she had probably heard him.  
  
“Well, not as well as Seongwoo does, obviously” Jonghyun says quietly with a laugh as they watch the two of them “But yeah I’ve worked with her once or twice before.”  
  
“She’s a legend,” Woojin sounds awed.  
  
“Thank you,” Hyuna tells him now paying attention to them. Woojin colours in his cheeks, dropping his head down bashfully, “But really I’m not nearly as much of of a legend as your financier,”  
  
“Whose our financier?” Woojin asks Jonghyun curiously, probably taking any opportunity to distract from his obvious embarrassment.  
  
“That’s confidential Woojin, you know that,” Jonghyun says. Boa insists on being a ‘silent partner’ as she calls it, to insure that in the case something does go wrong there are fewer people that could turn her in for a deal.  
  
“I can tell you that you’ve probably heard of her,” Hyuna says with a conspiratorial smile.  
  
“Her?” Woojin asks curiously, earlier unease with Hyuna forgotten in a few minutes. That’s why she’s one of the best.  
  
“Hyuna,” Jonghyun sighs. There are only a handful of women that do what Boa does in comparison to the scores of men. Not that he doesn’t trust Woojin but Boa always has a way of knowing things and he doesn’t want to risk her pulling her backing because Woojin figured out it was her.  
  
“Oops, slip of the tongue,” Hyuna says, the wink she sends him giving away it was very much a purposeful action.  
  
“Okay, but back to me,” Seongwoo says with an impatient huff.  
  
Hyuna laughs again and pats his cheek condescendingly, “Sorry darling, we know how hard it is for you to go without attention, don’t want to risk your health before a big job.”  
  
Seongwoo’s shoulders twitch uncomfortably, one of his only tells. Hyuna is one of only two people that has that effect on Seongwoo, from what Jonghyun has seen.  
  
“Now,” Hyuna says, stepping back and casting an appraising eye over Seongwoo, “Since you’re so keen for attention how about a little pop quiz?”  
  
Seongwoo groans.  
  
Jonghyun and Woojin laugh, and take great enjoyment out of Hyuna quizing Seongwoo for two hours over every little detail of his alias’ life.  
  
Kim Hyuna is nothing if not thorough, and the way Woojin’s face lights up when she offers to help him with the details of his alias his touching and appreciated.  
  
One less thing for him to worry about.

* * *

  
  
Jonghyun is surprised by how empty the house he and Jaehwan return to it the afternoon before Seongwoo is due to check in.  
  
In fact they don’t find another person until they push open the door to the study to find Seongwoo and Minhyun.  
  
“Sungwoon is done with his job with Taehyun tomorrow,” Minhyun tells Jonghyun in lieu of a greeting as soon as he enters the room, “Also, I hope you found what you were looking for.”  
  
Jonghyun and Jaehwan had been out searching for, something. Jonghyun’s hazy on exactly what it was, he just knows that Jaehwan needs it to rig up a power outage (on purpose this time), and that they did manage to locate one.  
  
Science was never Jonghyun’s stronger subject.  
  
“As long as he doesn’t end up in jail,”  Seongwoo says cheerfully, from his place inexplicably lying on floor “or on the run from Japanese police.”  
  
“It’s Taehyun planning an art heist, that’s practically art in itself,” Jonghyun says, slinging his jacket over the back of the armchair Minhyun is sitting in. He’s supposed to be meeting up with Jihoon at the Echelon later this evening to catch up on everything Jihoon’s learned over the past fortnight, but first he just wants to put his feet up for five minutes.  
  
“Yeah, Sungwoon isn’t the one on this job that’s ended up in prison before,” Jaehwan tells Seongwoo with a grin before glancing apologetically at Jonghyun.  
  
“I let myself get caught, for a job,” Seongwoo argues. No one bothers to challenge him even though they all know it’s a lie.  
  
“I let myself get caught so Seongwoo didn’t spend the next ten years in jail,” Jonghyun mimics him, squeezing himself into the armchair next to Minhyun  
  
Minhyun huffs, but shuffles over slightly so they can both fit. Jonghyun beams.  
  
“The point is, Sungwoon should be here Tuesday at the latest,” Minhyun says, pinching Jonghyun’s side. Unfair, “He’s got most of the woodblocks carved, it’s really just the ink and paper he needs to source here.”  
  
“Which means?” Jaehwan asks spinning himself around on the desk chair he’s planted himself in.  
  
“That he managed to get the hardest part of the job done whilst he was on another job, but he needs someone to get him a couple of specific details of Ahn’s prints.” Minhyun explains.  
  
“I’ll send Jihoon,” Jonghyun says. He’s been meaning to, but getting information on Ahn’s schedule and trusted employees had been more of a priority.  
  
“It also means once he gets here it’ll still take him a few weeks to get everything together depending on how long it takes to source materials,” Minhyun continues.  
  
“I don’t like not having a set date for everything to go into place,” Seongwoo admits, serious as he so rarely is, “Not for a job this big.”  
  
“I know,” Jonghyun agrees, even though the job being this big is on Seongwoo. He may have proposed it but they agreed to it so responsibility lies with all of them now, “But it’s the only way we can do it.”  
  
“I know,” Seongwoo echoes with a nod, “I still don’t like it.”  
  
“None of us do,” Minhyun admits, laying his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, “But at least once Sungwoon gets here we should have an idea of how long it will take.”  
  
“How’s Jinyoung going with his part of their project?” Jonghyun asks curiously since they’re on the topic. He hasn’t really seen Jinyoung around in the past few days, their paths not crossing, but as far as he knows everything  is on track.  
  
“He’s got some ideas, apparently” Jaehwan says confidently. Though he’s never imagined Jinyoung would talk his job through with Jaehwan, it does make sense considering they were the ones with the hands on jobs, “But he hasn’t had a chance to get started yet.”  
  
“You should,” Minhyun mutters to Jonghyun.  
  
“I will,” Jonghyun agrees back, equally as quietly.  
  
“Where is Jinyoung?” Jaehwan asks curiously, ignoring Jonghyun and Minhyun’s half conversation.  
  
Jonghyun pauses, “I thought he’d be here,” he admits. There’s nowhere he’s meant to be for a job right now which means he can usually be found in this very room.  
  
“He’s gone off to plant that bug in the security servers,” Minhyun offers as if it’s not a big deal.  
  
It’s a bit deal.  
  
“He wasn’t supposed to start yet,” Jonghyun frowns. There was a very carefully timed plan in place for that. It wasn’t meant to happen for three more days. Jinyoung also wasn’t supposed to be the one executing it.  
  
“Apparently the system is getting an unscheduled upgrade tomorrow,” Seongwoo tells him, reciting from memory, “and then he’ll have to start all over again and put us behind? I think I wasn’t really paying attention but he did say he had to do it today.”  
   
“And neither of you thought to mention this?” Jonghyun asks incredulously. He’s not annoyed exactly just surprised. It’s a big change of plans.  
  
Minhyun shrugs again as if it’s no big deal though Jonghyun can see that he’s feeling sheepish, “I got distracted by Sungwoon.”  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t bother to give Minhyun grief about it because another thought has just occurred to him  
  
“Himself? Like he’s going in himself?” Jonghyun asks. That had never been part of the plan due to Jinyoung’s lack of confidence (and skill).  
  
“Yeah, he said he didn’t trust either of the chicks with actually handling the bug, though they’re both off helping him. Woojin’s monitoring them from the other room,” Minhyun explains. Jonghyun doesn’t know how Minhyun let this happen.  
  
“Do we trust the chick with technology less than we do Jinyoung with the whole grifting aspect?” Jonghyun asks, wringing his hands together nervously. This was not part of the plan.  
  
Minhyun grabs his hand and looks at him, the unspoken ‘calm down’ clear in his face.  
  
“At least he’s going in as a tech guy, they’re all twitchy fuckers,” Seongwoo offers with a shrug, awfully blasé about the whole thing considering he was the one that didn’t want Jinyoung involved with the job in the first place.  
  
“Have some faith,” Minhyun says, letting go of his hand only to pat it, “Maybe this will boost his confidence.”  
  
“Or blow this whole thing apart,” Jaehwan contributes looking tense.  
  
“If he fucks it up at least we’ll all have time to get the fuck out,” Seongwoo suggests, even though everyone in this room knows Seongwoo would never leave someone behind (The rest of the team however probably doesn’t know that so Jonghyun makes a mental note to have a word with Seongwoo about those kinds of jokes later).  
  
“Reassuring, thank you for your assistance,” Minhyun says dryly. Seongwoo gives him an over exaggerated smiles and a double thumbs up in response.  
  
The two of them continue to bicker, with Jaehwan throwing a sarcastic comment in every now and then, but Jonghyun tunes them out. Instead he choses to lay his head on Minhyun’s shoulder and close his eyes, letting the familiar sounds wash over him.  
  
This job is stressful, more stressful than anything he’s pulled before, and Jonghyun is going to take any moment of peace he can.  
  
Even if they’re not particularly peaceful.  
  
Jonghyun thinks he must fall asleep at some point because he’s woken up by a loud rapping on the door frame.  
  
Woojin sticks his head into the room, “sorry to interrupt this super secret meeting of the masterminds but I think Jinyoung is about to fuck everything up”  
  
Jonghyun sighs. Seongwoo has less restraint that him and swears.  
  
“What’s he done,” Jonghyun asks, wincing at the painful kink in his neck. He might have been pushing it a bit recently.  
  
“Well he’s managed to get himself into the security centre but I don’t think he’s going to be able to get himself out,” Woojin says, looking tense.  
  
Jonghyun get’s up with a sigh already trying to rearrange his evening in his head.  
  
“No you go meet up with Jihoon,”Minhyun tells him before he can even say anything.  Actually orders him is probably a better description. “I’ll deal with Jinyoung,”  
  
“Are you sure?” Jonghyun asks not wanting to palm responsibility off to Minhyun.  
  
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’ve got it,” Minhyun nods, clearly feeling responsible for Jinyoung since he was so insistent on suggesting him, “Don’t keep Jihoon waiting.”  
  
Jonghyun glances at his watch and realises he’s meant to be meeting Jihoon in fifteen minutes. He slept longer than he thought.  
  
“Okay, good luck, please don’t blow this,” Jonghyun says, grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair before rushing out of the room. He’s in charge but somehow he doesn’t think Jihoon will be too happy if he’s late.

* * *

  
Jihoon is waiting for him in the lobby area overlooking the hotel’s Michelin Star restaurant, looking as bored and disinterested as ever. He doesn’t look annoyed though so Jonghyun counts that as a win, he gets the feeling Jihoon is still hesitant about the personal dynamics of the team.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t blame him.  
  
“Ahn Junhyung is one of the most pretentiously boring people I have ever had the chance to tail in my life,” Jihoon tells Jonghyun as soon as he’s within hearing distance. He needs to train the people he knows out of that habit.  
  
“That’s a good thing,” Jonghyun points out, checking over his shoulder that no one’s listening in on them.  The tourists of Vegas presumably have better things to do with their lives than listen in on a conversation they probably don’t understand but he’s not letting this job go down the drain over a misspoken word or wrong assumption.  
  
“Well good for the plan, terrible for my job satisfaction,” Jihoon says dryly. Jonghyun thinks it’s a joke; he hopes its a joke.  
  
“Well if they’re all so boring tell me about his days then,” Jonghyun says, getting straight to the point.  
  
Jihoon smiles in appreciation before launching into his recount of Ahn’s day. Jihoon’s right, it is all very boring, the typical schedule of a rich man with too much money and way too much ego.  
  
There are a couple of things that they can use though that Jonghyun files away for reference. The apparent friction between Ahn and the head of security is definitely something they’ll need to look into.  
  
“He eats at this place pretty much every night unless he has a business dinner,” Jihoon finally gets to the end of his recount, twisting his fingers around each other absent mindedly as he talks “he has this revolving door of people, usually pretty young people, that he has dinner with. I think he’s trying to make himself seem popular and irresistible.”  
  
“How’s that going for him?” Jonghyun asks curiously. Ahn might be powerful and rich but from what Jonghyun has seen of him he’s seriously lacking in charism.  
  
“Well from what I know at least half of them work here, so I’m going to say not well,” Jihoon shrugs his shoulders looking disinterested, “From the couple of times I’ve managed to get close they’re mostly talking in Korean about awkward inane things. One guy talked for half an hour about his cats.”  
  
“Hoping that people around they think they’re having meaningful conversation, sure” Jonghyun says with a nod. It’s a petty strategy but Ahn is all about image, “Any of these people stand out in any way?”  
  
“Well,” Jihoon says, licking his lips with a frown of concentration, “There is this one guy, I think he’s the curator of one of the galleries. Maybe even the Hokusai gallery since they were talking about him the other day when I passed them.”  
  
Jonghyun is stuck with an irrational worry. A Korean guy with an interest in Hokusai and a job as a curator. Seongwoo being so insistent on hitting this casino for reasons he’s not willing to disclose.  
  
“-three or four times the last two weeks… only one other guy more than once,” Jihoon continues to speak, though Jonghyun is paying no attention.  
  
“What does this guy look like?” Jonghyun cuts him off, gripping Jihoon’s arm hard enough to cause him to wince.  
  
“Umm handsome? Kind of broad shouldered, I’m not actually sure how tall he is since I’ve never seen him standing,” Jihoon says eyeing Jonghyun’s hands in concern.  
  
Jonghyun let’s him go and apologises immediately. Jihoon’s words do nothing to reassure him though, in fact they make him even more concerned, “Why? What’s this about?” Jihoon asks.  
  
“Remember when I told you to keep an ear out for the name Kang Daniel?” Jonghyun asks Jihoon sure that he must. The entire conversation with Jihoon and Daehwi about it had been odd to say the least and the both of them had left it looking more than a little confused.  
  
“Yes,” Jihoon says, “You think that might be this mysterious Daniel?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Jonghyun purses his lips, “I hope not.”  
  
If it is he’s going to have to do something to deal with Seongwoo. Like call this entire job off.  
  
“I can find out for you, if you want,” Jihoon offers. It’s the logical option, especially because Jihoon isn’t a known face to Daniel. If it is Daniel.  
  
Part of him is tempted to turn Jihoon’s offer down, if they don’t confirm Daniel might be there then he can ignore it. Pretend it never happened.  
  
That’s not good for the job though, “Yes, please,” Jonghyun says before redirecting the conversation, “But first tell me more about Ahn’s plans.”  
  
Jihoon gives Jonghyun an appraising look before apparently deciding he’s not going to get anymore information. “Well, he’s off to Seoul the day after tomorrow,” he answers, “Did you want me to follow him or…?”  
  
“No,” Jonghyun shakes his head.  
  
“Okay,” Jihoon says impartially. It drives Jonghyun crazy how composed he always seems to be, no cracks in his armour to slip through and see the real Jihoon. A handy skill for a thief but infuriating when managing a team.  
  
“I want you to find out who this mysterious curator is, and more broadly get a feel for the gallery in general,” Jonghyun instructs him. He’ll call in a favour in Seoul and get someone to shadow Ahn for however long he’s there, “I’ll put you in contact with Sungwoon, he needs some specifically details of some of the Hokusai prints.”  
  
“Got it,” Jihoon nods, honest to god pulling out a little notebook to jot notes down in. He looks down at his watch and then up at Jonghyun, “Ahn takes his dinner in fifteen minutes, did you want to maybe get a table and have a look yourself?”  
  
It’s a good idea, Ahn probably wouldn’t notice him in he crowd of strangers, but he’s still hesitant, “You just want me to buy you food,” Jonghyun jokes to give himself time to consider the offer.  
  
“I’m not exactly short of money,” Jihoon drawls. Jonghyun has to look carefully to spot the side of his mouth is pulled up in a smile; it’s a joke.  
  
“Well then if it’s your treat we can go,” Jonghyun challenges, just to see what Jihoon does.  
  
That’s how they find themselves sitting at a table in the restaurant two seats over from Ahn Junyoung, meals that costs more than Jonghyun probably spends on food a week on the table in front of them.  
  
Ahn is alone at first, but it’s not long before Jihoon grabs his wrist.  
  
“That’s him,” he whispers to Jonghyun as a figure passes their table, “The curator I was telling you about.”  
  
Jonghyun holds his breathe as the figure walks toward Ahn, his steps are confident (Daniel always had a confident walk about him) but there’s something reluctant in his posture. Jonghyun doesn’t blame the guy, he would be reluctant to share a meal with Ahn too.  
  
It can’t be more than a minute between Jihoon pointing the figure out and him turning so Jonghyun can see his face but it feels like the longest moment of his life.  
  
“I’ve never seen that guy in my life before,” Jonghyun says, breathing out a sigh of relief he hadn’t known he’d been holding. Deep down he’d been so sure it was going to be Daniel. To find out it’s not is the biggest relief.  
  
“That’s a good thing, right?” Jihoon asks, eyebrow raised in query.  
  
“That’s a very, very good thing,” Jonghyun says. One more thing going wrong today and he’d consider quitting (he assumes Minhyun has managed to get Jinyoung out because had he been caught Ahn probably wouldn’t be looking so relaxed right now).  
  
Of course just when Jonghyun let’s that train of thought reach it’s conclusion the power goes off.  
  
“Well,” Jihoon says sounds almost amused, “I hope we planned this.”  
  
They hadn’t planned it.  


* * *

  
  
  
  
“Minhyun made me do it,” is the first thing Jaehwan says to Jonghyun when he gets back to the house, arms held in front of him in the universal gesture of surrender.  
  
“Made you do what?” Jonghyun asks him, eyes narrowed. He thinks he knows the answer.  
  
“Blow the power to the hotel, to get Jinyoung out,” Jaehwan says, odd twist of his mouth the only thing giving away how awkward he feels.  
  
Jonghyun fights the urge to rub his eyes because half the team are here watching him and he needs to pretend to be in control for them.  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun says, taking a deep breath, “Where is Minhyun?”  
  
“Still out with Jinyoung,” Jaehwan says. He looks like he wants to offer more details but the eavesdropping team members give him pause.  
  
Jonghyun nods, “I’ll be in my room if anyone needs me,” he turns and walks away, pausing to look back at everyone when he reaches the door, “Please try not to need me.”  
  
Everyone makes very earnest promises so Jonghyun doesn’t bother locking the door, nor does he feel bad flopping face down in the middle of the bed. Today has felt like a week.  
  
Eventually he feeds bad enough about being unproductive that he pulls out his phone. There’s not much he can do right now though so he ends up texting Minki.  
  
Soon enough the door opens, “This better be important,” he says, not looking up from his phone.  
  
“Well, I am pretty important,” Minhyun says with a laugh, the lock on the door clicking into place.  
  
Jonghyun rolls onto his back and looks at Minhyun hovering nervously in the doorway, “I hear you were the mastermind behind that power outage,” he says lightly, “Or was Jaehwan just trying to protect his reputation?”  
  
Two accidental power outages in a week would been Jaehwan was getting sloppy or over ambitious.  
  
Minhyun laughs, coming forward to sit on the bed next to Jonghyun’s head.  
  
“No that was on me,” he says.  
  
“Why?” Jonghyun asks. Minhyun must have had a reason but he’d like to know it. This is going to make things more difficult.  
  
“They bribed one of the guards on the rotation to get Jinyoung in, a notoriously easy to buy guy by the sounds of it, but he took too long. The rotation changed, there was no way he was getting out of there without someone noticing.” Minhyun explains, earnest expression on his face, “We tried but we couldn’t think of any other options. Especially because Jinyoung wasn’t dealing with the situation well.”  
  
Jonghyun nods, “Okay.” It’s a fair enough explanation.  
  
“Okay?” Minhyun asks skeptically, “That’s all you’re going to say, even though it makes our exit strategy twice as hard.”  
  
“I trust your judgement,” Jonghyun tells him. That’s a fact, “If you didn’t think there was another way there probably wasn’t another way.”  
  
Even though he’s not exactly happy about it it’s done now. There’s othing they can do to change it so there’s no point at being upset at anyone about it.  
  
“Jaehwan might have an idea of how to fix the exit strategy,” Minhyun offers, reaching out to card his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair, “We could ask him.”  
  
“I might have something,” Jonghyun says, idea half forming in his head, “But let me think it over.” He doesn’t really want to think about this right now, he needs time to formulate a plan. Time when he’s more well rested.  
  
“Alright, tomorrow’s problem,” Minhyun agrees. They can’t put it off forever but surely one night won’t hurt, “How did the meeting with Jihoon go?”  
  
“It was insightful, Ahn is a creature of habit. A paranoid creature of habit, but that’s not so much of an issue,” Jonghyun explains. A paranoid, well secured habit is far easier to exploit than a unintentionally random schedule.    
  
“If it went well, then what are you so concerned about?” Minhyun asks, able to see through Jonghyun with an ease that would make him uncomfortable if he wasn’t equally as adept at reading Minhyun.  
  
“I’ve gotten so paranoid about Seongwoo’s motivation that when Jihoon told me Ahn was talking to an employe from the art gallery in Korean my first thought was it was Daniel,” Jonghyun explains, words spilling from his lips without much thought, “No more information than that, and yet I assumed the worst of Seongwoo.”  
  
Minhyun pauses his hand, clearly thinking hard “Well, it probably would have been my first thought as well,” he says eventually.  
  
“But why? Has Seongwoo actually given us a reason to mistrust him?” Jonghyun asks. He feels wrong, guilty, for how little faith he’d had in Seongwoo.  
  
“You went to jail because of him Jonghyun,” Minhyun points out dryly, still not entirely over that. He’s still more annoyed about that then Jonghyun ever was.  
  
“He was apologetic,” Jonghyun argues out of obligation more than anything. He’s not going to change Minhyun’s mind; he’ll still be annoyed at Seongwoo about that regardless.  
  
“Apologies don’t fix everything Jonghyun,” Minhyun reminds him quietly.  
  
Jonghyun changes the subject, slightly, because he knows they’re not going to agree about that, “He’s our friend though, I don’t know why I thought that’d he would manipulate us that way.”  
  
“When it comes to Seongwoo and his teen angst crisis over Daniel I don’t think anyone would blame you for being cautious,” Minhyun says dryly.  
  
It’s not meant to be funny but Jonghyun still laughs, just a little.  
  
“You didn’t accuse him, you didn’t jump to wild conclusions and call off the job or anything. You just, had a suspicion that turned out to be wrong,” Minhyun says starting to run his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair again. Jonghyun sighs, “Not even you can be right all the time Jonghyun.”  
  
“I suppose,” Jonghyun says slowly though Minhyun’s words do make him feel better.  
  
“Stop feeling guilty then,” Minhyun tells him, like it’s that easy.  
  
“I should still give him more credit,” Jonghyun says, biting his lip, “Stop doubting him and second guessing everything he does. Not everything has an ulterior motive.”  
  
“I suppose,” Minhyun sounds hesitant, like he doesn’t agree but doesn’t want to argue with “As long as you don’t put your blind trust in him.”  
  
“Don’t worry,” Jonghyun reaches up to pat Minhyun’s hand, “You’re the only one I have blind trust in.”  
  
“Sap,” Minhyun scolds him, pulling his hair lightly. He’s smiling though so Jonghyun counts that as a win. A bright spot in his hectic day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic needs more ladies that’s my only excuse for the first scene - ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi this took a little bit longer than usual especially for being so short (it’s literally only one scene) but let me tell you Jihoon’s POV was a (necessary) struggle. I kind of like how this chapter turned out but also I'm really nervous for what people will think of this one :S.
> 
> (Also I wrote most of this watching Pacific Rim and now I’m trying to fight the urge to write a Pacific Rim AU - Will I ever write something not based on a movie/tv show? Don’t hold your breath)

Jihoon doesn’t know why out of every member of this rag tag group of criminals (that Kim Jonghyun had probably pulled off the scrap heap) he’s been tasked with observing the details of the art prints.  
  
Sure he might be the one assigned to information gathering, good at going unnoticed and blending in, and maybe everyone else has jobs they’re busy with right now whilst he’s at a bit of a loose end with Ahn out of the country.  
  
It doesn’t change the fact that Jihoon is a pickpocket amongst a group of art thieves, he knows nothing about paintings or the great masters. He can’t tell the difference between Monet and Manet, wouldn’t be able to explain how a mokuhanga print was different to a woodcut.  
  
He’s got to memorise and observe the differences in paintings that he can’t even spot himself - the details are lost on him as loathe as he is to admit it.  
  
Which means he has to find another way to get Sungwoon the information he is after (he’s never met Sungwoon but one phone conversation with him was enough to convince Jihoon he probably shouldn’t disappoint him).  
  
Photography is strictly prohibited in the gallery so that’s out. Jihoon probably could get the photos and sweet talk himself out of any trouble if he’s caught but he doesn’t want to risk it. His entire purpose in this job is to be inconspicuous, to be able to observe key players whilst remaining unobserved himself.  
  
“Is it possible to get some sort of small inconspicuous  camera that I can take pictures of the paintings with?” He asks Jinyoung after his first visit to the gallery, sinking down into the seat next to him. Jinyoung pays him no attention, eyes glued to the computer system he has set up in the chick’s suite seven empty cans of energy drink spread across the table (another thing to add to the list of things Jihoon doesn’t understand - why everyone calls Guanlin and Seonho chicks).  
  
It takes five minutes for Jinyoung to acknowledge the question.  
  
“Sure, I can get you something,” Jinyoung finally shrugs before groaning as he stretches his shoulders backwards, “In fact it might be a good test run for the camera Jonghyun wants me to work up for Sungwoon.”  
  
“That’s, awfully easy,”  Jihoon says suspiciously, “What’s the catch?”  
  
“Well, the problem is the smaller you go the more you’re compromising quality, I can get you the best small camera that’s out there,” Jinyoung explains glancing up at Jihoon, “But it’s probably not going to get you a good enough capture of the small details.”  
  
He knew it was too good to be true, though Jihoon does like a challenge.  
  
“Would that not be an issue for Sungwoon as well?” Jihoon can’t help asking since he’s not entirely sure what Sungwoon needs a camera for.  
  
“Nah, with that one Jonghyun just needs to know what’s happening in general rather than specific details,” Jinyoung explains.  
  
Jihoon isn’t sure why the other’s seem to think Jinyoung is incompetent - when he’s in his element he’s awe-inspiringly sure of his skills if not himself. He’s come to find though that he has different opinions of these guys than the general consensus; probably through lack of shared history.  
  
On the other hand Jinyoung has also just spilled a can of energy drink on his computer keyboard, so there is that.  
  
The next day Jihoon goes in armed with a button camera that Jinyoung had managed to provide him before finally passing out from sleep deprivation (perhaps another reason he’s so jumpy). It’s a handy little device thats linked to the volume button on his Iphone. Maybe Jinyoung will let him keep one after this job is over.  
   
When he looks through the pictures later that evening though he realises Jinyoung is right, there aren’t nearly enough details there to satisfy his untrained eye let alone to help Sungwoon with accurate forgeries.  
  
So he has to improvise. He watches the gallery for another two days, taking note of all the staff rotations and procedures, keeping diligent short hand notes in the notebook he carries around with him everywhere he goes.  
  
He picks his target. One of the curators or guides, he’s not entirely sure their job title. The guy is tall and accommodating, yesterday Jihoon had seen him carry a small boy on his shoulders around the exhibit explaining the paintings to him and the other woman with him much to the kids enjoyment.  
  
He also seems lonely. When he’s not smiling at a guest or co-worker his resting facial expression looks like he’s about to burst into tears at any second.  
  
In other words he seems the easiest to manipulate.  
  
Jihoon waits until early evening, when the gallery is still open but most of the guests prefer to spend their time indulging in more typical Vegas pursuits.  
  
Then he goes to the bathroom, one of the only places without cameras and pulls out his phone.  
  
It only rings twice before it’s picked up.  
  
“Hello? What do you want Jihoon?” Samuel asks him, like the dramatic kid he is.  
  
“I need to talk at you,” Jihoon explains bluntly, in Korean, just to be sure he’s not overheard.  
  
“Isn’t that what you always do?” Samuel asks, trying to be funny even though he knows exactly what Jihoon means, he’s done this for Jihoon more than once.  
  
“Yes, it’s what you’re good for,” Jihoon answers back.  
  
“What’s the job this time then?” Samuel asks conversationally, willing to oblige Jihoon despite his half hearted complaints.  
  
“I need to convince someone to give me a lesson in art, without me asking” Jihoon explains deciding that it’s probably safe to leave the bathroom now.  
  
“Art? You’re planning an art heist now? Isn’t that a bit risky for you?” Samuel asks, sounding slightly nervous at the idea.  
  
“I’m not working alone,” Is all Jihoon is willing to divulge. Samuel has helped him out with this part of a plan more times that he can count but Jihoon still loathes to give him (or anyone) more details than necessary.  
  
“Okay,” Samuel says, dragging the words out in that way he has, “What are we talking about today?”  
  
“Hokusai and his prints and how apparently each of the prints of the same paiting are different?” Jihoon says, switching back to English as he makes his way back to the gallery.  
  
“Hokusai?” Samuel says curiously, “I’ve heard that before, let me Google it,” he rambles, the reason he’s Jihoon’s first choice in missions like this. Pretending to talk on the phone is all well and good but there’s no substitute for the real thing, the random ebbs and flow in conversation, the soft murmur of responses from the other end of the line that people nearby can hear.  
  
It’s also nice to have human interaction now and then.  
  
“Oh, Hokusai, the dude that started tentacle porn, that’s right” Samuel says brightly after a minute.  
  
“What on earth are you talking about?” Jihoon asks, noting that his target is still in the gallery along with a handful of families with kids, and what looks like a girl trying to sketch one of the prints.  
  
“Hokusai, the Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife? The image that,” He says animatedly before pausing as if he’s thought better of something, “You know what never mind google it.” Jihoon makes a mental note to never google it.  
  
“Please stop talking about tentacle porn,” Jihoon says, wandering through the gallery looking as despondent as possible, “And help me?”  
  
“Help you how?” Samuel asks sounding confused before he says, “Oh, you’re starting on your con now, okay right.”  
  
“I’m supposed to be writing an essay on the variations in famous woodblock prints,” Jihoon says, making sure to inject a hint of desperation into his voice as he walks past his target, “But I don’t get it, they’re prints they all look the same to me.”  
  
“This is why you’re not an art thief,” Samuel tells him with a cheerful hum, then as usual taking the opportunity to insult Jihoon when he can’t retort, “Also your fashion sense stinks.”  
  
“Come on be serious,” Jihoon tells him, meaning it. He notices that the target is watching him so he switches into Korean, “If I fail this essay I fail the unit and then I have to repeat it and I can’t afford that. American university is so expensive.”  
  
“Yeah, if only you had some spare cash lying around,” Samuel says managing to make sarcasm sound cheerful “Hey, I know this guys work, it’s like iconic. I think my sister has that Great Wave on some shoes,”  
  
“I don’t care about shoes I care about the original prints,” Jihoon says in a huff, “Like how can you even tell the difference? Shouldn’t they all look the same since they’re prints?”  
  
“Because they’re printed from woodblocks which wear out,” Samuel surprises him with the answer, “which I just found out from Wikipedia,” Samuel tells him sounding bored, “Come on if you want to attract someone’s attention you’ve got to be more creative than that.”  
  
“How do you tell which is more valuable though? Is it the earlier ones?” Jihoon asks switching back to English, not having to fake his frustration too much. Samuel brings that out in him.  
  
“Yes,” Samuel answers absently before he asks what he’s clearly been wondering for a while, “Hey do they have the Fisherman’s Wife there?”  
  
“It’s a family exhibit Samuel,” Jihoon says letting out a long suffering sigh. He still doesn’t know what Samuel is talking about but the mention of tentacle porn gives him more information than he wants.  
  
“Is that a no?” Samuel asks through a laugh.  
  
Jihoon rubs at the bridge of his nose in despair, taking a moment to look at the curator. The man is now looking at Jihoon with open sympathy so he takes that as his cue to hang up on Samuel.  
  
“If you’re going to mock me rather than help me I’m hanging up,” Jihoon hisses, just loud enough for the curator to hear him, “If I fail it’s on you.”  
  
“That’s not fair,” Samuel gasps in faux outrage, before becoming more serious, “Also you better tell me what this is all about when it’s over.”  
  
“I will,” Jihoon agrees quietly.  
  
“And get me a print of the Fisherman’s Wi-”  
  
“Shut up about the tentacle porn,” Jihoon snaps not in character anymore, “goodbye,” he adds before hanging up on Samuel and sighing.  
  
He takes one more despairing look at the prints before he flops down onto one of the couches provided around the room. He looks around for a minute, noticing that the curator seems like he’s debating whether to approach him or not.  
  
Jihoon drops his head into his hands and sighs to hurry the man along. It works; not two minutes later he hears footsteps approaching.  
  
“Excuse me,” the curator says, placing a hand on Jihoon’s shoulder, “Are you okay?”  
  
“I’m okay,” Jihoon says looking up at him with a smile that is obviously fake.  
  
“Really? Because you don’t seem okay,” The curator says, towering over Jihoon. It’s a little bit intimidating, even if this guy behaves like he couldn’t hurt a fly from what Jihoon has observed.  
  
“Well,” Jihoon says, casting a look around the gallery, “I’ve kind of got an assignment on mokuhanga for my university degree and I thought coming here might help,” he looks down at his hands in fake nervousness, “But it hasn’t really?”  
  
“What do you need to know?” Curator guy (Jihoon really needs to ask for his name in a minute - when it’s less conspicuous) asks him.  
  
“Specifically why different prints are considered better than others? My friend told me it was because the first prints would be worth more because they’re higher quality, but I don’t know how you identify which ones are newer?” He says, speeding up his tone as if he’s let his words get away from him before he looks down, “Sorry, I’m sure you have more important things to do than listen to me rant.”  
  
“It’s okay,” the guy assures him with a sympathetic smile.  
  
“No, I shouldn’t waste your time,” Jihoon says going for self pitying and succeeding well enough. Grifting has never been his strength but you’ve got to have some skill in it to succeed in picking pockets.  
  
“It’s not a waste of time, it’s my job,” The guy says encouragingly, “I want to help.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Jihoon asks him hopefully, widening his eyes to look endearing.  
  
“I’m sure,” The guy says before ducking his head, “I might have heard you on the phone before, to your friend. Failing a class sucks,”  
  
“Oh,” Jihoon says, before smiling brightly, “You speak Korean?”  
  
“Yeah,” The guy says with a nod, looking uncomfortable at the topic.  
  
“Sometimes I think I’m going to forget how to speak it,” Jihoon admits (which is a bold faced lie) with a sheepish duck of his head.  
  
“I can understand that,” he says sounding sad and far away, looking like his mind is not entirely present.  
  
That’s not conducive to what Jihoon is planning so he rushes to add, “Are you sure that you don’t mind walking me through this? I’m really dumb when it comes to any art that’s  two dimensional.”  
  
“You’re an artist?” the curator asks curiously, looking at Jihoon like he’s genuinely interested in everything he has to say.  
  
Jihoon nods humbly, “Sort of. Sculpting is more my thing,” he admits (Jihoon actually can’t create anything to save himself)  
  
“Well,” the curator taps his chin as if he’s thinking about it, he pauses, “sorry I didn’t get your name?”  
  
Without thinking about it Jihoon introduces himself using his real name not the name he’s checked in under. It shouldn’t be a problem but it’s still sloppy.  
  
The man pauses hesitantly, as if he’s considering something, before he introduces himself  as Euigeon. It’s an interesting name, Jihoon will give him that.    
  
Jihoon laughs, “Your American co-workers can pronounce that?” He asks, trying something risky but hoping it’ll pay off.  
  
“No, I have an American name but sometimes it’s nice to hear your own name, you know?” Euigeon asks him with that sad smile again. Bingo.  
  
Jihoon nods, he did give Euigeon his real name after all. “I picked my English name when I was seven, now I refuse to use it,” he says to create a false sense of bonding.  
  
“Well, awkward introductions over,” Euigeon says with a self deprecating little smile that radiates kindness, “Do you want a crash course on identifying imperfections in mokuhangap prints?”  
  
“If it’s not too much trouble,” Jihoon says once again, just to be sure.  
  
Eugieon looks around the almost empty gallery, “I’m still on for another two hours and as you can see, there isn’t much else for me to do.”  
  
Jihoon’s watched him for four days, he knows that’s a lie (that answering guest’s questions is only a fraction of his job). His desperate college student alter-ego doesn’t know that though so he accepts the explanation.    
  
“Okay, then lead the way,” Jihoon smiles trying to look appeased (That’s not an expression that gets much practice).  
  
“The easiest way to notice is on the woodblocks with text, of course because the wearing on the more precise areas becomes noticeable quicker” Euigeon says leading him towards an out of the way corner of the gallery he’s not given more than a cursory look before, “These are some of his lesser known works but honestly the lesser known ones can sometimes be more valuable, the Great Wave for example is the most well known print but as one of the most popular and overexposed one Hokusai’s works a print of it has never actually sold for a huge sum.”  
  
He pauses and rubs at his neck sheepishly with a little smile, “Sorry, that’s more information than you wanted.”  
  
“No, it’s interesting,” Jihoon smiles, not exactly lying. People that are passionate about things have always been something Jihoon appreciates. It’s also very useful for his job, all details are going to help.  
  
Jihoon reaches down to surreptitiously flick a switch to turn on the voice recorder that Jinyoung had installed in his watch last night before he lets Euigeon lead him around the gallery, pointing out specific details in the prints they have on display and how they help determine age.  
  
To his untrained ears the explanations are ridiculously detailed so hopefully there’s enough information for Sungwoon to be able to use in his reproductions. Jihoon nods and smiles, pretending to get more and more enthused by the work as he grows to ‘understand’ in order to keep Euigeon talking.  
  
They’re just wrapping up for the day, the gallery about to close (where has the evening gone?) when Jihoon’s phone beeps. He looks down to check the message, it might be Jonghyun, and groans. It’s not Jonghyun, it’s Samuel.  
  
“What is it?” Euigeon asks him curiously.  
  
“My friend, sent me a picture of tentacle porn,” Jihoon says, turning the phone to show him what Jihoon can only assume is the Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife painting.  
  
Euigeon looks at it for a couple of seconds before he starts giggling, laughing so hard his head drops and he claps his hand, eyes disappearing into endearing crescents. Jihoon is amazed at the change, the pure joy radiating out of him that makes Jihoon want to laugh along. He looks like he was made to laugh.  
  
Jihoon wonders what on earth could make a person who looks so right laughing look so miserable. Jihoon has gotten pretty decent at reading people over the years he’s been on the wrong side of the law and the best way he can describe Euigeon is lonely, adrift. Like something unpleasant has happened in his life and he’s still struggling to process it.  
  
That’s not Jihoon’s problem though. His problem is the heist and getting the information he needs.  
  
And if Euigeon agrees to meet with him again tomorrow to go through more details of the paintings, well it won’t be the most unpleasant day Jihoon has had on this job.  
  
In fact he might even enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Daniel is here guys, only took me 25K words and he’s not even interacting with Seongwoo. This was one of the first scenes I planned so um it might be anticlimactic because I didn’t realise the Daniel Reveal would turn into such a thing #oops (The entire premise of this fic is they’re all criminals but the most unrealistic part of it is probably Daniel as an art expert lbh.)
> 
> (Also I should probably stop using this fic to procrastinate writing my other fic at some point).


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit late (and v odd) because some shit going down at work (8.5 hour days with no lunch break is 100% legal) meant I didn't get any chance to write before Saturday, sorry thanks for you patience 
> 
> ( This _is_ the first time I’ve published before midnight though xD)

It takes Jonghyun two days of turning it over in his head before he comes up with a possible solution to the problem of the blackouts.  
  
“So, how much work does it actually take for you to blow the power each time?” Jonghyun asks Jaehwan coming into the study of the house. They’re the only ones there, everyone else out doing their jobs.  
  
Jaehwan looks up at him, automatically on the defensive, “I swear to god Minhyun told me-”  
  
“No I know,” Jonghyun cuts him off sitting down on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest, “But how much work does it take to blow?”  
  
“I mean it’s not a walk in the park, but for someone of my skills it’s pretty easy,” Jaehwan boasts (everyone says Seongwoo has the biggest ego but Jaehwan has him beat sometimes - even if neither of them are entirely serious).  
  
“Can they figure out where the shorts are coming from?” Jonghyun asks, rolling his neck back. What he really needs is a proper sleep no matter how unlikely that is.  
  
“I mean if I shorted it the same way multiple times I’m sure even Ahns’ guys would be able to figure it out, but there is more than one way to short the power,” Jaehwan explains, leaning forward like he does when he gets excited about his work, “You could also set it up so you only short out different bits at a time. Why? What are you thinking?”  
  
“Well, I was thinking if the lights and electricity kept shorting they’d think they had an electric problem rather than being suspicious of why,” Jonghyun taps his fingers against his knee.  
  
Jaehwan nods slowly, “Make them complacent. That could work, at the very least it would make sure they didn’t look too closely at the incident from the other day.” Jonghyun’s sure that if they were going to have noticed Jinyoung they would have by now, but better safe than sorry. “But they’re getting frequent outages they’re going to try harder to fix them and not just rely on the generator getting up and running within minutes.”  
  
“You’re good though as you keep telling me, you could make it look like an accident I’m sure,” Jonghyun says since compliments always make him more agreeable.  
  
“Alright,” Jaehwan nods with more conviction, “I think that could work.”  
  
“I’m glad,” Jonghyun says. If Jaehwan had said what he was asking was impossible they’d have been in trouble - he really didn’t have any other options.  
  
Jaehwan starts chatting away about the different ways he could blow the power after that - Jonghyun presumes he’s not actually expecting any input from him and is doing it just to talk through his ideas.  
  
At some point Jihoon comes in. He greets the two of them before he sits down on the couch, crams his earphones in and pulls out his ever present notebook.  
  
Jonghyun watches curiously as he starts to write, phone balanced on the arm of the chair. Every now and then he frowns and taps on the phone for a few seconds before going back to his writing.  
  
Jonghyun has no idea what he’s up to, and the look on Jaehwan’s face suggests that he’s just as confused.  
  
“What are you doing?” Jaehwan eventually asks Jihoon, his curiosity too much to take.  
  
Jihoon doesn’t respond so Jonghyun reaches out and pats him on the arm. He startles slightly before clicking on his phone screen, presumably to pause whatever he’s listening to, and pulling his earphones out, “Yes?” He asks, the picture of respect.  
  
“What are you doing?” Jaehwan repeats, gesturing towards his notebook as if it wasn’t obvious what he was asking.  
  
“Writing notes for Sungwoon,” Jihoon answers.  
  
Jaehwan snorts and mutters something under his breath about over achieving teacher’s pets.  
  
“Why do you need to write notes?” Jonghyun asks, ignoring Jaehwan “Didn’t Jinyoung give you a recording device?”  
  
“Yes,” Jihoon confirms what Jonghyun already knew  
  
“So couldn’t you just share to audio files with Sungwoon?” Jaehwan asks slowly.  
  
“Yes,” Jihoon nods again before he explains, “But the guy that gave me the information was really nice and just doing his job. I don’t want any of this to come back to him if anything goes wrong.” Jonghyun probably wouldn’t have thought of that but Jihoon is right; it’s a good idea.  
  
“That’s creating more work for yourself and wasting time,” Jonghyun prods just to see how Jihoon will react.  
  
“I’m doing it in my down time so it’s not affecting the job, why else would it matter?” Jihoon says glancing back down at the notes, before looking up defiantly.  
  
Jonghyun lets himself smile, “That’s really considerate of you.”  
  
Jihoon shrugs, looking bashful, “He’s just been really accommodating, going out of his way to help me. The last thing I want is him getting in any sort of trouble. As soon as I’ve transcribed it Jinyoung is going to help me delete all traces of the audio file.”  
  
“He’s a good one,” Jaehwan says to Jonghyun, not willing to compliment Jihoon himself for whatever reason.  
  
Jihoon bites his lip to hide a smile but doesn’t get a chance to respond because Seonho and Guanlin chose that moment to run into the room, bringing with them the usual air of chaos that trails behind.  
  
“Where’s Jinyoung?” Seonho asks breathlessly, looking around the room before frowning, “And where’s Minhyun?”  
  
“I don’t know where Minhyun is,” Jonghyun answers as Seonho comes and cuddles up to his side, clearly using him as a substitute for Minhyun.  
  
“I call fake,” Seonho says with what has to be an honest to god pout on his face, “You two are like the same person.”  
  
“Contrary to popular belief we are actually separate people, and I don’t know where he is at all times,” Jonghyun says, pulling on Seonho’s ear playfully.  
  
“Really, because he always knows where you are,” Seonho says, resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder.  
  
“Ah yes but that’s because he has me microchipped,” Jonghyun says. It’s obviously a joke but Seonho looks at him for a few seconds like he’s trying to decide.  
  
“But where is Jinyoung?” Guanlin asks from where he’s made himself comfortable spread across the couch, head pressed into Jihoon’s leg.  
  
Jihoon shoots him an unimpressed look but just moves his book slightly so he doesn’t hit Guanlin in the head with his elbow as he continues to write.  
  
“Uhh,” Jonghyun frowns, trying to remember where Jinyoung is since he didn’t have anything he needed to be doing for the job right now. Oh right, “Seongwoo took him out to give him grifting lessons.”  
  
Everyone turns to look at him, “Are you sure that’s not code for Seongwoo is going to murder him and bury the body in the Nevada dessert?” Seonho eventually asks him, totally straight faced.  
  
“Well, no I’m not sure,” Jonghyun says slowly, “But we’d be in a lot of trouble if he was doing that so I’m just going to assume he’s not.”  
  
“Risky assumption to make when it comes to Seongwoo,” Jaehwan tells him. It’s a joke - most such comments about Seongwoo are - but the way Jihoon is looking at Jaehwan in concern reminds Jonghyun that not everyone knows that.  
  
“Well,” Jonghyun says closing his eyes, “If Seongwoo murders our tech expert then I’ll be forced to murder Seongwoo and call the job off.”  
  
There’s a long silence as if the others can’t quite decide if Jonghyun is joking or not. He tries not to smile.  
  
(He’s half joking).  
  
“Should someone, check on them?” Jihoon asks slowly, giving up all pretences he’s still working on his notes.  
  
Jonghyun shrugs. Seongwoo probably is just trying to help Jinyoung (and hopefully he’ll succeed as well as he did for Woojin who’d been a driver back when they first worked together).  
  
 Jinyoung might not have been his first choice but Seongwoo really wants this job to succeed (for whatever reason) so he’s probably going to do whatever he can to make sure it does.  
  
“We’ll send out a search party if they’re not back by dinner,” Jaehwan reassures them.  
  
“Why did you need Jinyoung anyway?” Jonghyun asks, the question only having just occurred to him (he really does need to get some sleep before his brain forgets how to function).  
  
He can feel Seonho’s sheepish shrug.  
  
“You probably don’t want to know?” Seonho says, voice basically a squeak as he shuffles impossibly closer to Jonghyun.  
  
Usually Jonghyun would press the matter but right now he just can’t bring himself to care, “As long as it’s not going to impact the job?”  
  
“No, not at all,” Seonho answers so quickly that Jonghyun can’t help but believe him.  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun nods, resting his head on top of Seonho’s, “Well then me up when we find out what happened to Jinyoung.”  
  
And somehow despite all the racket he does manage to fall asleep.  
  
  


  
  
**STAGE TWO: INFILTRATION**

  
  
  
“Whose idea was this drunk thing?” Jonghyun mutters to Minhyun under his breath as the two of them sit pressed together in the back of a taxi on the way to the Echelon.  
  
“Yours,” Jaehwan’s cheerful voice filters over the comms units that they’re both currently wearing.  
  
When they’d left the suite every member of the team except Woojin (who was on shift in the casino tonight) had been crowded around the computer monitors that Jinyoung had hooked into the hotel’s security system during his misadventure.  
  
“He’s right, it was yours,” Minhyun agrees, placing a hand on Jonghyun’s knee.  
  
“It was my idea when it didn’t involve me,” Jonghyun whispers back keeping an eye on the taxi driver who keeps glancing at them in his rearview mirror, “I’m not good enough at grifting for this.”  
  
“You could actually get plastered,” Is Seongwoo’s ever so helpful suggesting, “call it method acting.”  
  
“That would defeat the purpose,” Jonghyun shoots back glaring at Minhyun when he squeezes his knee.  
  
“I don’t know I’ve seen you lift when drunk,” Minhyun says speculatively, “Not quite as cleanly as when sober but effectively.”  
  
“Jonghyun lifts?”  Daehwi asks sounding interested.  
  
“Yeah Jonghyun’s buff as heck under those baggy sweaters,” Seongwoo answers seriously. There’s a thud sound and then Seongwoo whines, someone clearly having smacked him (Jonghyun’s money is on Jaehwan).  
  
“Jonghyun started as a pickpocket,” Jaehwan explains so Jonghyun doesn’t have to, the taxi driver would probably find that suspicious, “way back when.”  
  
“If you guys are going to listen in could the running commentary stop,” Minhyun says as their taxi pulls up to the Enclave tower of the hotel, “It’s awfully distracting.”  
  
“Sorry,” Jinyoung says even though he hasn’t said anything so far. No one else responds.  
  
Jonghyun hopes that means they’re going to listen as Minhyun gets out of the taxi, reaching back to grab Jonghyun.  
  
Jonghyun goes obligingly, make sure to obviously stumble before he attaches himself to Minhyun’s back. Minhyun scoffs, swinging a bag onto his shoulder (making sure to hit Jonghyun with it in the process - asshole) before leading him into the hotel.  
  
“There they are,” Seonho cheers as soon as they step foot in the lobby. Jinyoung’s probably following them with the security cameras.  
  
Jonghyun keeps himself plastered to Minhyun’s back as they make their way up to the check in counter, Minhyun appearing to carry their weight but periodically ‘stumbling’ to imply he’s not entirely sober himself.  
  
The aim is to be memorable but not make a scene, so that the people that serve them remember the drunk newlywed couple but not their faces.  Apparently it should be a piece of cake (for Seongwoo maybe).  
  
Jonghyun lets Minhyun take the lead for this, seeing as grifting has always been his speciality, and instead listening to the running commentary of the rest of the team (hopefully it helps him look like he’s spacing out drunk).  
  
At one point he does wave his hand in the air a bit to highlight the wedding ring before putting it on Minhyun’s arm, “Darling,” he stage whispers, catching the check in girl’s attention, “We’re married.”  
  
“Yes we are,” Minhyun agrees, grabbing his hand and shooting him a fondly exasperated look, that grows cheeky as he squeezes Jonghyun’s hand harder then necessary.  
  
In retaliation Jonghyun kisses his neck once before biting his shoulder, taking pleasure in the way Minhyun flinches.  
  
“It’s a bit like watching your parents kiss, isn’t it?” Guanlin says in the resulting silence.  
  
“Not in the slightest,” Seonho answers straight away causing a chorus of groans to echo down the coms.  
  
The giggle that Jonghyun smothers into Minhyun’s neck is very much real.  
  
“Alright,” Minhyun says loudly, louder than is really necessary, “honey, we can go to our room now.”  
  
“Yay,” Jonghyun says trying to hide how awkward this is for him (the fact he knows the whole team is watching only makes it twenty times worse).  
  
They make their way towards the elevators, Jonghyun still hanging onto Minhyun and swaying them side to side. They almost bump into three people during their short walk, including a dealer heading onto their shift who shoots Minhyun a dirty look.  
  
Jonghyun pays them no mind, ready to get to his destination and get this over and done with.  
  
Finally they reach the elevator, and Minhyun reaches around to grab Jonghyun’s hands and pull him off, “Sweetie,” he says sweetly, “You need to let me go.”  
  
Someone makes a fake gagging noise over the coms.  
  
Jonghyun pouts for a second before he smiles, “Okay I’ll race you,” he says stepping back from Minhyun with a laugh. Except he steps too far, tripping over his own feet and straight into the security guard standing watch near the elevator.  
  
The guard frowns as he reaches out to stop Jonghyun from knocking him into the wall. Jonghyun makes sure his eyes are unfocused and he wobbles a little as he looks up at the guard, “Hi!”  
  
“Careful,” The guard says warningly, though surely he’s probably seen worse tonight.  
  
 Jonghyun laughs again, reaching out to steady himself on the guard, “Sorry.”  
  
The man looks annoyed but not suspicious as Jonghyun blinks twice before lurching forward, using his momentum to swipe the security pass in his belt. He steadies himself, dropping the pass into his own pocket, before stumbling backwards into Minhyun who catches him.  
  
“Sorry,” he says again, widening his eyes as much as he possibly can.  
  
(“I didn’t know anyone’s eyes looked like that outside anime,” Jinyoung whispers).  
  
The guard looks disgruntled but waves him off with a quip to Minhyun about keeping him inline. Jonghyun just continues to smile brightly, as Minhyun ‘leads’ him towards the elevator.  
  
James Scott has a reputation amongst the staff for misplacing his security card. No one will bat an eyelid when he finishes his shift tonight and doesn’t have it.  
  
“Good job,” Minhyun whispers as they get onto the elevator, reaching into Jonghyun’s pocket to slide a second ID into it.  
  
“Wait, so Minhyun swiped an ID card?” Daehwi asks in confusion, “That’s what the drunk thing was about?”  
  
“Partially,” Jonghyun whispers, letting himself lean back against Minhyun and exhale.  
  
Nothing is quite the same as the rush of stealing something without being noticed - he might have been dealing with big, complicated jobs exclusively for a few years now but Jonghyun has always been and will always be a pickpocket at heart.  
  
“They both got ID cards,” Jihoon says quietly, “Jonghyun from the guard and Minhyun from the dealer.”  
  
Someone whistles in appreciation before all nine of them finally decide to be quiet, now that it doesn’t matter if they’re a distraction. Typical.  
  
“Well, there’s a reason they’re the best,” Seonho says cheerfully to break the silence just as their elevator arrives at their floor, “Although Minhyun’s was better.”  
  
Of course he thinks so.  
  
“Jonghyun’s was a good lift though,” Jihoon says sounding impressed, even though Jonghyun had picked his pockets before they’d even met properly.  
  
“They were pretty simple actually,” Minhyun argues just to make himself seem more important, “We can give you all tips if you like.”  
  
The resulting reaction is so loud that Jonghyun can’t make out individual voices as Minhyun opens the door of their room.  
  
“Show’s over,” Jonghyun says once the door is shut behind them, squaring his shoulders, “Which means I’m sure you all have jobs you could be working on.”  
  
He doesn’t give anyone the chance to respond. Instead he removes his ear piece, switches it off and places it on the vanity table. Then drops onto the bed, hiding his face under the pillow before he lets the embarrassment take over.  
  
“It wasn’t that bad,” Minhyun laughs from wherever he is in the room.  
  
Jonghyun would beg to differ, “I’m never showing my face outside this room ever again.”  
  
“That would get awfully expensive,” Minhyun tells him mildly, the bed dipping as he sits down next to Jonghyun, “And we don’t want to give Ahn anymore money then we absolutely have to.”  
  
Jonghyun grunts to acknowledge him. Then he turns away from Minhyun, hugging his knees to his chest.  
  
Minhyun laughs again, patting him on the shoulder, “Hey it wasn’t nearly as bad as that time in Sydney,”  
  
“We don’t talk about Sydney,” Jonghyun says turning to glare at Minhyun. As far as he’s concerned it never happened.  
  
Minhyun smiles back innocently. Asshole.  
  
“Is your com off?” Jonghyun asks him, wanting to be sure that no one else is listening in on them.  
  
“Of course,” Minhyun says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
“Good,” Jonghyun nods with a cheeky smile before grabbing Minhyun by his shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t give out his mobile number lightly. Never has.  
  
It’s something of a hangover from his days as a teenager, when he wasn’t quite as careful or clever, when he covered his tracks instead of making sure he left none. When he wasn’t as good at working with other people. At trusting them.  
  
It’s three in the morning and they’re meant to be constructing their mock up of the Echelon’s vault. They’ve been at it since before the sun went down though so understandably some of the kids are distracted.  
  
Jinyoung and Jihoon are placing bets on how far Daehwi can jump between vault shelves, Seonho has a procured a pizza at some point which he has balanced on his lap fending off anyone who comes close, and Jonghyun is pretty sure that Seongwoo is fast asleep sprawled across the floor.  
  
It’s why he knows that it’s none of his team trying to reach him when his phone starts ringing. Minhyun looks over at him with a frown but no one else pays him any attention as he pulls the phone out of his pocket to glance down at the screen, assuming it Sungwoon or maybe Minki.  
  
It’s not. It’s a number that’s not saved in his phone.  
  
Everyone that Jonghyun has ever had dealings with knows that he doesn’t answer unidentified numbers - never has and probably never will. Especially not whilst he’s on a job. Seongwoo and Jaehwan have called him paranoid more than once about it but Jonghyun would rather be paranoid than caught out.  
  
It’s probably nothing. It could be a problem.  
  
He needs to do something about it.  
  
“Jinyoung,” Jonghyun calls out, loud enough to attract everyone’s attention. Jinyoung is laughing when he looks up at Jonghyun, the most at ease Jonghyun’s seen him on this job, “Come here for a second please.”  
  
The smile drops from his face as Jinyoung scurries over to him, attracting everyone else’s attention.  
  
Jonghyun ignores them, leading Jinyoung over to a corner of the warehouse they won’t be overheard, trusting that Minhyun will distract the others.  
  
“Hey, I need you to do me a favour,” Jonghyun tells Jinyoung, not missing the way the tension disappears from Jinyoung’s shoulders at his words. One day perhaps Jinyoung will stop being afraid he’s going to get ‘in trouble’ but Jonghyun’s not holding his breath.  
  
“What is it?” Jinyoung asks curiously.  
  
“Can you trace a number that called me? Find out who it belongs to?” Jonghyun asks, holding his phone out in front of him.  
  
Jinyoung takes it hesitantly, “That’s not exactly legal.”  
  
Jonghyun raises and eyebrow and looks around the warehouse pointedly, “If something not being legal was enough to stop you then you wouldn’t be here.”  
  
“Okay, give me ten minutes,” Jinyoung says with a confident little nod. Jonghyun waits as he marches away to retrieve his laptop and comes back, perching on a conveyer belt as he clicks away at the keyboard.  
  
Jonghyun switches between watching Jinyoung in his element and observing as Minhyun forces the others to get back to work on their building project. What can only be five minutes later Jinyoung is tapping on his elbow to get his attention.  
  
“If you want me to track down where the phone is right now it’ll take me longer,” He explains, turning the laptop so Jonghyun can see it even though nothing on the screen means anything to him, “But I can tell you the number was purchased eight months ago in Chicago in the name of Jason Yoon.”  
  
 “Fuck,” Jonghyun swears unable to stop himself. It’s got to be Jisung, it’s too much of a coincidence to be anyone else.  
  
Jinyoung looks startled by his outburst.  
  
“Is it possible, at all, to make it look like I’m somewhere I’m not right now?” He asks Jinyoung, entirely unsure as to the extent of what technology can do.  
  
“Like hacking your phones GPS signal to show that you’re in Croatia or something?” Jinyoung asks him hesitantly.  
  
“Yes.” Jonghyun nods.  
  
“It should be possible,” Jinyoung says, shoulders squaring as he slips into his element, “I’ve never tried but I don’t see why it couldn’t be done.”  
  
Jonghyun’s not paying attention because he’s continued the train of thought to a more concerning place.  
  
“Could this person have tracked me by my phone number?” he asks, only fighting the urge to pace because that would be a surefire sign to the team (he’s positive they’re all watching them right now) that something’s up.  
  
“Depends how good they are but probably not until you answer the phone,” Jinyoung says chewing on his lip as if he’s deep in thought, “I think I can do it, though it might take me a little while.”  
  
“It’s fine,” Jonghyun says absently, mind already 100 miles away trying to figure out why Jisung would be calling him after going radio silent for a year, if Minhyun’s to be believed, “In fact that’s your top priority right now. For me, Minhyun, Jaehwan and Seongwoo.”  
  
“All four of you?” Jinyoung asks, clearly waiting for more of an explanation. He’s not going to get one.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun starts to say before changing his mind, “No. Not Seongwoo. Seonho and Guanlin instead.”  
  
As far as he can remember no one else in this room has worked a job with Jisung before which means they should be safe. (he’ll get Jinyoung to make sure Sungwoon’s signal remains in Japan when he shows up in a few days).  
  
Perhaps he’s being paranoid. Maybe Jisung has just realised Jonghyun was trying to get in contact and is getting back to him.  
  
Somehow he doesn’t think it’s that easy.  
  
“Okay,” Jinyoung says with an obedient nod, “Anywhere in particular?”  
  
Jonghyun thinks about it, “Put me and Minhyun in London. I don’t care where the others are but make sure Seonho and Guanlin are together and tell me where they are once you’re done.”  
  
“Okay,” Jinyoung nods again looking incredibly seriously about it.  
  
Then, because Jonghyun needs to make sure that Jisung isn’t going to try and call anyone else before Jinyoung can work his computer magic he calls everyone over. Better to take everyone’s phones to divert any suspicions.  
  
“I need Jinyoung to update the encryption on everyone’s phones as a precaution so hand them over,” Jonghyun says.  
  
Some of them start handing their phones over without question. Unsurprisingly not everyone is obliging.  
  
“Now?” Seongwoo asks, cradling his phone close to his chest, “What is Jinyoung steals my identity?”  
  
“If he was going to steal an identity he wouldn’t pick yours,” Jaehwan points out despite the fact he hasn’t handed his own phone over.  
  
“I don’t care what weird porn or whatever you’ve got on your phone,” Jinyoung surprises Jonghyun by saying.  
  
“He’s probably got worse on his own phone,” Daehwi chirps cheerfully ducking out of the way as Jinyoung reaches up to flick him behind the ear.  
  
Jonghyun tries not to smile.  
  
“The sooner you give Jinyoung your phones the sooner you can have them back but you will let him update your encryption,” Jonghyun tells them firmly. He feels like a fraud, like every member of his team can see that he’s lying to them.  
  
“Do you actually want me to update the encryption?” Jinyoung whispers once Jonghyun has finally dismissed everyone for the day - without their phones of course.  
  
“How long would that take?” Jonghyun asks watching everyone leave.  
  
“A while,” Jinyoung answers, biting his lip again “Although there are a couple of things I could do to superficially updated it so it looks like I did  more?”  
  
“Okay,”Jonghyun nods his head, taping his finger against the conveyer belt, “Can we make it your priority in the morning? Or after you’ve had some rest rather.”  
  
He’s not cruel enough to let everyone else go home but make Jinyoung work through the dawn.  
  
To his surprise Jinyoung shakes his head, “I’ll do it now, it’s fine.”  
  
“If you’re sure,” Jonghyun says. Jinyoung nods, already absorbed in whatever he’s doing on his laptop, Jonghyun’s phone cradled in his hand.  
  
“You could go back to the suite at least,” Jonghyun points out.  
  
He’s not sure Jinyoung even hears him at first because it takes him over a minute to answer, “I’m fine here, I’m settled.”  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t bother arguing with that. Instead he hoists himself onto the table next to Jinyoung, once Jinyoung’s finished with his phone he has a few things he could do, because he’s obviously not leaving Jinyoung alone in the warehouse all night.  
  
He doesn’t miss the way Minhyun shoots him a questioning look as he leaves, but Jonghyun just shakes his head. He’s not going to worry anyone (besides Jinyoung) about this when he doesn’t have to.  
  
 It’s probably nothing after all.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s never talk about that scene ever again. Okay? Good okay.
> 
> (O11 was on again yesterday afternoon and once again I missed the beginning. Honestly one day I’ll see the whole movie again)(BUT watching it helped me with a scene in this I was 100% stuck on so small things I guess).


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been dying of the flu all week (my immune system is categorically Shit) and didn’t think I’d get this chapter done anytime soon but then Wanna One Go just. Changed my life. So now it’s only had a day late xD
> 
> Also made me regret Daniel isn’t HERE why do I do my bias this way?
> 
> -
> 
> Anyway this chapter and last one were originally conceived as one chapter until the last one got Out Of Hand which is why this one might feel a bit…empty.

  
Park Woojin is good at his job.  
  
Of course Jonghyun has always known that, he would never risk a job working with someone that wasn’t good, but Woojin has improved. Improved in leaps and bounds.  
  
Where before he was efficient if not slightly surprised at what he could get people to do, now he’s persuasive and confident. He could probably talk Jonghyun into a job if he wasn’t careful.  
  
Or maybe Woojin has been this good for a while and Jonghyun simply hadn’t noticed.  
  
He’s noticed now though. He can’t help but notice when Woojin has one of the most important roles. When his success is pivotal to the overall success of the plan.  
  
Woojin needs to catch Ahn’s eye without looking like he’s trying. He’s got to be hard working and persuasive, good for Ahn’s casino without being seen as manipulative or too ambitious.  
  
The involvement of Daehwi as their greaseman had been a brilliant stroke of luck - or fate as Minhyun sometimes liked to say.  
  
Ahn had been trying to lure Daehwi, amongst others, to come and headline a show at his casino in direct competition to the Cirque du Soleil shows that were such a staple along the strip. He already knew that Woojin was friends with Daehwi - it was the reason that Woojin had been hired after all. Now they just had to convince him that Woojin had Daehwi’s ear.  
  
They know that Ahn is personally aware of Woojin - one of his floor men has been watching Woojin’s every move carefully - both in and out of the pit. Ahn’s done half their work for them.  
  
After that it’s easy. Woojin talks a co-worked into swapping shifts with him or persuades a gambler to place just one more bet. He talked a British lawyer into having a go at the slot machine after he’d lost a years wages at Woojin’s Blackjack table and a Chinese manager on a company retreat into bringing his entire staff to the casino.  
  
It was all his own charisma at work, he’d barely had to break a sweat.  
  
Now, they were in the final stage, to truly seal the deal. Show Ahn what Woojin was capable of without even trying.  
  
Seongwoo had checked in about a week ago now, flashing around his ‘considerable family wealth’ and his status as a High Roller.  
  
He’s also been very conservative at the poker tables. Sure he played but he was savvy, he cashed out after a win and cut his losses when the luck wasn’t going his way. He talked loudly about how much money he had, how much he enjoyed gambling but he’d managed to come away from the tables so far with a net gain.  
  
He was the type of whale that casinos hated and Jonghyun had watched the pit boss getting more and more frustrated as the week had gone on. Just yesterday he’d consulted with Ahn personally about how to get Seongwoo to spend more.  
  
It’s the perfect final showcase of Woojin’s negotiation skills.  
  
Seongwoo does his usual routine, spends his morning throwing money at food and drinks and frivolous amenities, paying for a random family’s room upgrade just to attract attention.  
  
Then he takes a seat at Woojin’s table.  
  
Jonghyun sits at one of the slot machines as close to them as he can get without betting himself. Seongwoo has a comms unit in so that Jonghyun can hear what they’re saying (Woojin never wears comms or a mic when he’s out on the tables - there’s no way they would risk him being caught with them).  
  
Things progress as normal. Seongwoo loses a few hands, looks like he’s considering leaving the table but decides to play one more. Of course he wins that hand, wins back double what he’d lost in the previous hands. He smiles, “Well, I think I know when to cut my loses, I hope you understand.”  
  
“Of course,” Woojin smiles back as the pit boss looks on appraisingly, “But is it really cutting your loses when you come away with a win?”  
  
Seongwoo laughs, “Well, maybe not. But  
  
They lean towards each other, “Doesn’t Jonghyun look stunning this fine afternoon,” Woojin says, lips barely moving.  
  
It’s so unexpected that Jonghyun has to hide his startled laughter as a coughing fit, “What the hell Woojin?”  
  
“It’s not like any of them can hear what we’re saying,” Seongwoo says. It’s probably true, Ahn doesn’t actually have the tables miccd and the cameras aren’t that good. The pit boss is keeping a close eye on them of course but he’s not suspicious, “And he’s right, Jonghyun what is your secret? Share with the class.”  
  
“You’re the ex model,” Jonghyun tells him, feeding a coin into the slot machine just for something to do, “Shut up and do your job.”  
  
“Yes sir,” Woojin says cheekily before he’s leaning back.  
  
Seongwoo frowns as if he’s considering it before he smiles, “Well what’s one more hand then?”  
  
One more hand is a loss, a second and third loss follow. When Seongwoo tries to cut his losses for real Woojin tells him that his pattern means this should be a win.  
  
Seongwoo plays again. It’s another loss.  
  
“Well, I guess luck is just not on my side today,” He tells Woojin, getting up from the table thousands of dollars worse off than he started, “I hope you understand I’m done.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Woojin asks, “Your luck might turn?”  
  
“Forgive me for not wanting to risk it,” Seongwoo says looking good humoured, like he can’t quite believe he’s lost that much money.  
  
“Maybe tomorrow will be better?” Woojin suggests kindly as Seongwoo’s about to walk away.  
  
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow,” Seongwoo smiles as he turns away.  
  
The second Seongwoo is out of earshot the pit boss is tapping Woojin on the shoulder. They have a quiet conversation before Woojin looks over his shoulder and nods. The pit boss claps him on the shoulder, friendly this time, before walking back to his post.  
  
Woojin meets Jonghyun’s eye then shooting him a small thumbs up. Ahn wants to meet with him. It worked.  
  
“This plan better pay off,” Seongwoo mutters under his breath as he walks out of the casino looking entirely unbothered by the huge sums of money he’s just lost, “because otherwise we’ve just given Ahn a huge chunk of Boa’s cash.”  
  
He’s lucky they’re the only two on the coms right now because Boa is still insisting on her anonymity to the team.  
  
“You’ve got to spend money to take money,” Jonghyun says quietly, getting up and leaving the casino himself, “That’s the motto of Vegas isn’t it?”  
  
“I suppose,” Seongwoo mutters, letting his shoulder drop in fake dejection now that he’s reached the elevators.  
  
“You’re-” Jonghyun starts to say, coming up behind him.  
  
“If you say the one that I chose this target one more time I will throw you out of your hotel suite window,” Seongwoo mutters out the side of his mouth.  
  
Jonghyun tries not to laugh.  
  
“Minhyun’s just forgiven you for me going to jail, not sure he’d forgive you for my murder,” Jonghyun tells Seongwoo. Minhyun might though you never know. Not when it came to Seongwoo and Minhyun and their odd relationship.  
  
“He’d get a bigger share in the take with you gone, I think he’d be fine,” Seongwoo tells him as they get into the lift still not looking at each other.  
  
“With both of us gone Minhyun would get even more,” Jonghyun says meeting Seongwoo’s eyes in the elevators mirror with a cheeky grin.  
  
Seongwoo is quiet, looking down at his feet before looking back up at Jonghyun, “Minhyun could probably do it all without any of us. Take the whole loot without having to split it twelve ways.”  
  
Jonghyun pauses. Seongwoo isn’t wrong,  
  
“Probably,” he agrees.  
  
“Okay, truce,” They say in unison, meeting eyes and grinning before looking away, mindful of the elevator cameras.  
  
That brief and silly moment, more than anything, convinces Jonghyun that Seongwoo is and will be well and truly okay.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Jisung calls Jonghyun again twice more after the morning in the warehouse. Jonghyun doesn’t answer either call, not because he knows it’s Jisung but because Jisung knows that he doesn’t answer unknown numbers and would be suspicious.  
  
Which does raise the question as to why Jisung is calling him, but as long as Jinyoung is bouncing his number out of London well Jonghyun’s not particularly concerned.  
  
At least, that’s what he tells himself.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Jonghyun returns to the house for the first time in a couple of days to find less members of his team than he expected. In fact the only people he can see are Minhyun and Daehwi in the kitchen.  
  
“Are you ready for this?” Minhyun is saying as Jonghyun walks in, hands planted on Daehwi’s shoulders looking him straight in the eye.  
  
Daehwi gulps and nods.  
  
“Are you sure you’re ready?” Minhyun asks, eyes narrowed, “Really sure. A lot is riding on you Daehwi.”  
  
Daehwi looks terrified Jonghyun notes from his position just inside the door.  
  
“I’m sure,” Daehwi nods again with his brow furrowed in concentration, “I can do it.”  
  
“Ok. As long as you’re sure,” Minhyun says, Jonghyun can basically hear the laugh he’s trying to hold in “If you fuck up-”  
  
“He’s not going to fuck up Minhyun, have a little faith,” Jonghyun says, drawing their attention to him.  
  
“Jonghyun, you’re back,” Minhyun smiles, letting go of Daehwi’s shoulders but not stepping out of his personal space.  
  
“Just in time,” Seonho says popping out from who knows where, “Minhyun was three seconds away from scaring Daehwi off the job.”  
  
“I wasn’t scared,” Daehwi insists looking like he’s about to stamp his foot to prove his point.  
  
“Sure you weren’t,” Minhyun honestly reaches up to ruffle Daehwi’s hair, laughing as he ducks away from the arm that Daehwi half heartedly swings in his direction.  
  
“Where’s Woojin?” Jonghyun asks, looking around the room. Woojin was meant to be here to drive Daehwi to the meeting they’d set up with Ahn.  
  
“Here,” Woojin says, coming out of one of the bedrooms with a pretty young girl following behind him.  
  
“Who’s this?” Jonghyun asks, eyebrow creeping into his hairline. He’s never seen this girl before in his life which makes he an unknown variable. He hates those.  
  
“This is Somi,” Daehwi says coming to rest his arm on her shoulder despite the fact that the monster heels she’s wearing makes her a few inches taller than him.  
  
“Oh,” Jonghyun says with a nod. He’s heard of Somi, Daehwi’s closest friend fellow Cirque du Soleil performer. At one point Daehwi had talked about getting her in on the plan but Jonghyun hadn’t been too confident in another untested element in their already volatile team.  
  
Apparently someone had overruled him on that one without telling him. He can’t think of another reason for her to be here.  
  
Apparently Jonghyun hadn’t been too good at keeping that annoyance off his face either because Daehwi announces, “Somi heard I was meeting with Ahn and said she refused to let me do that to myself. She wouldn’t let me leave my home,”  
  
Somi nods her face looking determined. Jonghyun hasn’t spoken to her before but he doesn’t doubt her.  
  
“I decided it would be easier to get her on board than try and get Daehwi of all people to talk his way out of it,” Minhyun says calmly. Like it was that easy. It was never that easy, decisions about any job should never be made so lightly especially when it involved bringing someone new into the fold. When it came to this job it was triple the risk.  
  
“Hey,” Daehwi says affronted. No one pays him any attention.  
  
“Daehwi’s never been able to lie to me,” Somi says confidently. Just looking at their body language Jonghyun would believe it.  
  
“Yeah, and if Somi had decided that she was going to report you to the police or to Ahn?” Jonghyun asks, trying not to let his annoyance leak into his voice. Judging by the way Minhyun looks at him he’s failing.  
  
“Well then the police would have found out about Somi’s own criminal past,” Minhyun says giving Jonghyun a look that roughly said ‘trust me’.  
  
Somi shrugs shamelessly, “Who hasn’t used their acrobatics skills to rob a few stores here and there? It’s harmless.”  
  
She’s an interesting girl Jonghyun decides, they can probably trust her. That doesn’t make him any less annoyed at Minhyun.  
  
“What exactly have they told you?” Jonghyun asks Somi, turning away from Minhyun.  
  
She shrugs, making Daehwi’s arm move in the process, “You want to use Daehwi as an in to rob Ahn and his horrible casino of exploitation,” That’s an interesting way to put it, Jonghyun wonders why she’s so hostile towards Ahn, “Which I am all for the dude totally has it coming, but I have to ask won’t his insurance just cover whatever you steal?”  
  
It appears she really does only have the barest details. She could probably derail the plan simply by telling someone there’s a plan to rob Ahn, but she doesn’t know enough to get them caught. Hopefully.  
  
“Don’t you know you don’t get to know the details of the plan till you’ve gone through a top secret initiation?” Seonho chirps, reminding Jonghyun that’s he’s in the room. It’s a rare moment that Seonho’s actually being quiet.  
  
Somi looks Seonho up and down before she shakes her head, “I don’t want to be a part of your secret boys club. I just want to know you have that covered.”  
  
“We have it covered,” Woojin says shooting Jonghyun a bright smile, “Jonghyun always thinks of everything.”  
  
Jonghyun smiles back out of reflex. He doesn’t feel like he’s got everything covered, he feels like everyday this whole thing gets slightly more out of control.  
  
“Okay, so what do you want me to do then?” Somi asks shoulders squared, “Because don’t think you can tell me about this then expect me not to take part.”  
  
“Well,” Surprisingly it’s Daehwi that speaks up, “Everyone knows that it’s you that Ahn really wants,” as he says this he moves his arm from around Somi’s shoulder to around her waist in a comforting gesture. There’s clearly more to that story and Jonghyun can unfortunately guess what it is, “And everyone knows that you’re part of the reason no one is accepting his meeting offers.”  
  
“That’s overselling me a little bit,” Somi says, looking more uncomfortable than she did a minute ago, “I think everyone just knows Ahn’s a creep who is going to try and manipulate and take advantage of anyone who ends up in his employ.”  
  
“You underestimate your popularity,” Daehwi tells Somi sternly before turning to Jonghyun, “We were waiting for you to decide how to best use her though.”  
  
“I’m a person not a tool,” Somi tells them before Daehwi’s even finished his words.  
  
“We know that,” Minhyun assures her straight away, probably using that charming smile of his. Jonghyun wouldn’t know he has his back to him.  
  
“Do we send Somi in with me now or do we use the offer of her as a bargaining chip,” Daehwi says before visibly cringing, “Not offering her as a bargaining chip, like implying I might be able to talk her into meeting him and considering his offer.” He rushes to add, words stumbling over each other.  
  
Somi pats his head, “I got you,” she reassures him before turning to Jonghyun to hear his verdict. Everyone else in the room does the same.  
  
“Give me a minute to think about it,” Jonghyun says hating being put on the spot more than anything.  
  
Thankfully everyone does give him a minute, returning to whatever it was they were doing before he arrived (minus Minhyun’s terrorisation of Daehwi).  
  
The second he clears his throat though all eyes in the room are on him again, “Okay, I think we send you in without Somi this time, but see if you can imply Somi might be interested for the right price. Subtly if possible, if you can’t see an opening don’t try and force it. Follow Woojin’s lead if all else fails,” Jonghyun instructs, Daehwi nodding his head seriously at each instruction.  
  
“Am I being brushed off?” Somi asks him. Her tone is joking but from her eyes he can see she’s deadly serious.  
  
Jonghyun shakes his head, “No. You’ll be the perfect distraction at a later date, that could work very nicely.” It’s not the missing puzzle piece or anything as cliche as that - Jonghyun wouldn’t ever leave piece missing - but it does slot in well with their existing plan.  
  
“Oh,” Minhyun says softly from behind him, “That is clever.”  
  
Jonghyun ignores him.  
  
“Okay,” Somi says looking suitably placated, “As long as I get to play an active role in putting that fucker in his place.”  
  
“Language Somi,” Daehwi says looking affronted despite the fact he hears worse around on a daily basis.  
  
“Now we’re sorted though, you two need to go,” Minhyun reminds them, forever keeping everyone on track, “Your meeting is in half an hour and you don’t want to keep Ahn waiting.”  
  
“Right, yes okay.” Daehwi says rushing around the room to grab his things together, “Okay, we’re good, we’re going?”  
  
“Can I get a lift home first?” Somi asks, raising her hand in the air.  
  
“You’re the one that dragged yourself out here,” Daehwi teases her even as Woojin is agreeing easily.  
  
“Good luck,” Seonho chirps as the three of them rush out the front door of the house a whirlwind of cheerful chatter. Jonghyun can’t help but smile fondly at them. Just for a second.  
  
The he has to get to work, he has a mess to clean up.  
  
“Where are you going?” Minhyun asks him as Jonghyun makes to leave the room.  
  
Jonghyun catches site of Seonho scurrying away as he turns around to answer Minhyun,“I’m going to monitor the meeting with Jinyoung.”  
  
“You said you trusted them to do it alone,” Minhyun reminds him gently.  
  
“I did. When we didn’t have a completely unaccounted for variable in the mix. When we didn’t have to stretch Daehwi’s untested grifting ability,” Jonghyun says trying to keep his voice steady. He fails, but it’s only Minhyun who has seen him at worse.  
  
“Are we going to talk about why you’re mad?” Minhyun asks.  
  
Jonghyun takes a deep breathe, “I’m not mad,” it’s not even a lie, “But I really do want to monitor them so we’ll talk about it later.”  
  
“Promise?” Minhyun calls out after him.  
  
“Promise,” Jonghyun says as he leaves the room. He’s not sure Minhyun even hears him.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Between the event of Sungwoon showing up the next day and the chaos that follows they don’t get a chance to talk about it.  
  
It’s not that Jonghyun is avoiding Minhyun by picking Sungwoon up from the airport himself. It’s just that he has something more important for the chicks to do.  
  
That doesn’t stop Sungwoon questioning him about it. “What are you hiding from?” are the first words out of his mouth when he spots Jonghyun waiting for him.  
  
“Sorry?” he asks, helping Sungwoon with his suitcases.  
  
“Well you’re here to pick me up instead of one of the minions you’ve got trained to follow your every request so, you’re probably avoiding something,” Sungwoon explains as if that’s perfectly accepted logic.  
  
Jonghyun has no clue whether he’s supposed to be insulted by that or not.  
  
Sungwoon pats him on the shoulder as he walks past him towards the exit, “Don’t think too hard about it.”  
  
Jonghyun shakes his head with a grin and follows behind Sungwoon, letting easy small talk about Japan and their job and of course the inevitable good natured complaining about Taehyun fill their drive back to the house.  
  
They’re about half way back when Jonghyun’s phone rings. He doesn’t think twice about pressing the speaker button in the car, answering the call before checking to see who it is.  
  
Before the call connects he has a brief second of panic, it could be Jisung trying to get through again. Unfortunately Sungwoon would be suspicious if he hung the call up straight after answering it so there’s nothing he can do about it.  
  
Thankfully it’s not Jisung. It’s Jaehwan.  
  
“Jonghyun,” he says voice too controlled to be good news, “Did you happen to send Seongwoo out on a job you forgot to tell anyone about today.”  
  
“No,” Jonghyun says slowly, “Why would I have done that?”  
  
“Because no one knows where he is right now,” Jaehwan tells him cautiously, like he’s waiting to see how Jonghyun is going to react.  
  
A week ago Jonghyun would have expected the worst. Jonghyun has expected the worst of Seongwoo multiple times this job and been proved wrong every time he won’t let himself doubt one of his oldest friends again. He trusts Seongwoo.  
  
“He’s probably sleeping in or working on his cover at the casino, have you tried calling him?” Jonghyun asks wondering if there’s more to the story than Jaehwan is telling.  
  
“Yes, but I suppose if he’s at the tables or something he wouldn’t have picked up,” Jaehwan says sounding slightly less concerned.  
  
“If you’re really concerned ask Woojin, or get Jinyoung to look through the cameras for him but I guarantee you whatever he’s doing is probably boring as hell,” Jonghyun reassures Jaehwan.  
  
Jaehwan laughs, that nervous laugh of his not his full blown cackle, “I suppose we should all stop being so hard on him huh?”  
  
“Probably,” Jonghyun agrees, “He’s done nothing so far this job to deserve the doubt.”  
  
“I’ll try. It’s just, it’s Seongwoo you know?” Jaehwan confesses. It’s not that they doubt Seongwoo or think he’s a bad friend. It’s that they know what Seongwoo can be like when it comes not getting what he wants. When it comes to Daniel.  
  
Jonghyun knows these things all too well which he tells Jaehwan. Still Jaehwan signs off sounding much less worried than he had at the beginning of the call so that’s progress.  
  
“Do I want to know what that was about?” Sungwoon asks him with a frown.  
  
“Probably not,” Jonghyun shakes his head, tightening his hands on the steering wheel.  
  
“Should I know what that was about?” Sungwoon asks again, the slight change in wording making all the difference.  
  
Everyone else knows, so Sungwoon probably should as well, “Seongwoo suggested the job and when we started was still a bit hung up on his break up so everyone was suspicious of his motive,” Jonghyun says trying to be truthful and minimise the early situation a few weeks ago at the same time. Things are fine now.  
  
“So he’s not anymore?” Sungwoon asks skeptically.  
  
“I really think he’s getting over it, or dealing with it better,” Jonghyun admits sincerely, “He seems happier and less reckless at the very least.”  
  
“Okay,” Sungwoon accepts it easier than Jonghyun expected. Of course he might just think he’s got all he’s going to get from Jonghyun and is planning to ask someone else like Minhyun later.  
  
That’s not Jonghyun’s problem to worry about..  
  


* * *

  
  
  
When Sungwoon and Jonghyun arrive back at the house Jihoon is on the only one waiting for them sitting patiently in the living room.  
  
“Hi,” Jonghyun says once he shows Sungwoon to the bedroom that will be his for the duration of the job, “Is it just you?”  
  
“Guanlin and Jaehwan are in the kitchen,” Jihoon informs him, sitting straighter than usual, “Jinyoung is camped in his room at the hotel as always - you should probably tell him about work life balance - and Minhyun took Seonho out somewhere? I’m not sure where he said it was a secret. Jaehwan said you knew about Seongwoo, the others are doing their job,” Jihoon reports. Very thorough that boy, Jonghyun’s not sure how he’s going to work with any other pickpocket after him.  
  
“Well, aren’t you organised,” Sungwoon says from behind Jonghyun, having apparently decided to just dump his stuff. Jihoon squares his shoulders, ears going red.  
  
Jonghyun laughs.  
  
“Jihoon, nice to finally meet you,” Sungwoon says coming into the room and sitting next to Jihoon. The two of them had co-ordinated a lot on the details of the paintings so they should know each other well enough to not be uncomfortable. Theoretically.  
  
Jonghyun hadn’t realised how much Jihoon had relaxed in their presence until he’s confronted with someone he hasn’t properly met before and the shields go back up.  
  
Sungwoon is good at putting people at ease though, helped along by the fact he looks entirely non-threatening. “Well,” Sungwoon waves a couple of rolls of paper in the air, “As the person who’s most familiar with Ahn’s prints can you look these over for me and let me know if there’s anything you notice that’s off with them.”  
  
“I don’t really know much about art,” Jihoon admits even as Sungwoon kneels by the table and unrolls the pages to reveal sketches of some of the Hokusai that Ahn has in his collection, “Wouldn’t you be better to go have a look at the pieces yourself?”  
  
“Oh I will don’t worry,” Sungwoon says flippantly, “But you don’t need to know about art you just need your memory and an eye for detail.”  
  
Jihoon hesitantly sits opposite Sungwoon and looks at the first sketch, “It’s a bit difficult without colour isn’t it?”  
  
“Yes, but I need to carve the blocks from the sketches before we can colour them and I’d rather make sure that I don’t have to carve more blocks than absolutely necessary. We’re on a timeline here after all,” Sungwoon grins.  
  
Jihoon nods determinedly and looks down at the page for a long few minutes before he says, hesitantly, “I think maybe this line of the wave here needs to be a bit blurrier?”  
  
Sungwoon nods seriously making a few revisions with his pencil before asking Jihoon opinion again. He nods this time, “I think that’s better?”  
  
Jonghyun sits on the couch and writes out an update on their to send to Boa as they go through the various sketches, Jihoon’s suggestions getting more confident as Sungwoon takes them all seriously.  
  
Jaehwan and Guanlin return when they’re onto the third sketch, floating back from the kitchen without any food to show for their expedition (there’s no fire alarms going off or suspicious smells following them though so Jonghyun lets it go). Jaehwan presses himself into Jonghyun’s side making ‘helpful’ suggestions for his update. Guanlin just falls asleep.  
  
Eventually they get off topic, Jihoon asking Sungwoon in depth about how he goes about making his forgeries, and how the woodblocks work. Sungwoon looks delighted at being able to explain exactly how hard the work he does is and at someone taking interest in his work.  
  
Maybe after this job Jihoon might decide the art world is more thrilling than being a common pick pocket. Jonghyun wouldn’t be surprised.  
  
Jonghyun is just starting to wonder when Minhyun and Seonho are going to be back - Guanlin and Seonho were supposed to be out in the van this evening - when the front door crashes open.  
  
It’s not Minhyun or Seonho though.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Woojin says out of breathe as he rushes into the room, “We have a problem. A really fucking huge problem. A we’re probably going to have to cancel the whole fucking job problem.”  
  
Jonghyun sits up, more than a little bit concerned about how panicked Woojin sounds.  
  
“Why. Woojin what happened?” he demands.  
  
Woojin bites his lip breathing hard before he blurts, “I think I figured out why Seongwoo wants to work this job. It’s not good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> I think it’s probably super obvious I’ve never gambled a day in my life so… inaccuracies are Sure to be here and moving forwards.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I had no idea what I was doing with Woojin’s POV tbh so this probably came across a bit? IDK no real sense of his personality. Also, it’s probably pretty obvious but it runs basically concurrently with last two chapters :)

Woojin has always found working with Minhyun or Jonghyun a vastly different experience from any other job he’s worked. Working jobs with both of them is another thing entirely.   
  
He’s not entirely sure how to put into words what that thing is even though it’s been five years since he started working with them.   
  
He’s really not sure how to explain it to Jihoon.  
  
Jihoon who is currently staring at him expectantly over the cafe table.  
  
“Uhh, what was the question again?” Woojin asks, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Of course he remembers the question but it’s a delaying tactic.  
  
Jihoon knows as much as but doesn’t call him on it, just snorts and asks again, “Is working with Jonghyun always this chaotic?” The question is worded slightly different this time Woojin notices.  
  
Then he shoves more of his burger than Woojin thought possible in his mouth.  
  
“Not really,” Woojin answers, because it’s true, “Usually the jobs are smaller.”  
  
Usually jobs with Jonghyun are the most organised jobs that Woojin works, simple and slick and very rarely prone to fall apart. This one’s different though. It’s bigger and riskier and Seongwoo is something of a wild card right now.   
  
Jihoon shoots him a look and then asks, through his half chewed mouth of food, “Yeah but, is this usual?”  
  
Woojin reaches forward in disgust to push Jihoon’s jaw closed. Jihoon glares and him and when he removes his hand chews in exaggerated fashion just for effect.  
  
Woojin wrinkles his nose in disgust, “You’re gross.”  
  
“You’re grosser,” Jihoon says, thankfully now finished chweing food, “Now answer the question.”  
  
“No. Jonghyun’s usually, one of the most organised and clever people I know,” Woojin says. This job is getting to him though, anyone who has worked with him before can see that.  
  
Can see it’s Seongwoo’s fault. Woojin likes Seongwoo, wouldn’t be where he is right now without Seongwoo’s guidance, but he’s gone off the fucking rails this time.  
  
“He’s still clever, I’ve never seen someone think so fast on their feet,” Jihoon says admiration evident in his voice, “But I don’t know I’d call anything about this job organised.”  
  
“I’m not sure that’s Jonghyun’s fault,” Woojin says honestly, feeling the need to defend Jonghyun. Everyone besides Daehwi and Jihoon has worked with Jonghyun before and understands how amazing he can be. He wishes those two had been able to see Jonghyun like that before this mess. See what he’s capable of.  
  
Not that he’s not amazing now. But it’s different.   
  
“No, it seems to be Seongwoo’s,” Jihoon says putting down his food and leaning over the table, “Why is he even on this job? Surely Jonghyun knows a better grifter.”  
  
“Seongwoo is the best,” Woojin says without thinking about it. He doesn’t know why it’s important to him that Jihoon understands how good these people he cares about is, maybe he hopes Jihoon isn’t scared away and continues to work with them in the future, “He’s just, unstable right now.”  
  
“Unstable people should not be on this job,” Jihoon whispers. It’s clear from his face that it’s something Jihoon has been thinking for a long time, something he wants to get off his shoulders.  
  
“Seongwoo taught me everything I know, even at his worst he’s better than 90% of people in the game,” Woojin says more defensively than he intends. It’s true though, he owes more than he could ever repay to Seongwoo.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Jihoon says sounding both genuinely apologetic but baffled at Woojin’s outburst, “I just wanted to know.”  
  
“Look Seongwoo broke up with his partner recently and he’s a bit, unsteady because of that,” Woojin says, wanting Jihoon to understand but not wanting to give away Seongwoo’s secrets or weaknesses. He likes Jihoon more than he expected to, when he loosens up he’s not nearly as serious and solemn as he came across at first - in fact he’s downright kooky, but Woojin still doesn’t trust him with secrets that aren’t his to sure, “His heart is in the right place though.”  
  
“There’s a lot of that going around,” Jihoon says under his breath. Woojin has no clue what that means since Seongwoo is the only member of the team that’s going through any sort of break up as far as Woojin can tell. A bad enough break up to effect the job at least.  
  
“Hey, what’s the time?” Jihoon asks out of the blue, wiping his hands before Woojin gets a chance to question him.  
  
“Don’t you have a watch?” Woojin asks even as he looks down at his own wrist.  
  
“My university student persona wouldn’t wear a watch,” Jihoon says with a shameless shrug.  
  
“It’s two,” Woojin tells him even though his explanation is ridiculous and he must still carry his phone.  
  
“Shit, I’m going to be late,” Jihoon says gathering his things in a rush.  
  
“Jonghyun gave you the day off,” Woojin points out with a frown, everyone had a day off to prepare for their task this evening, “And don’t you dare leave without paying your share I’m not shouting you.”  
  
Twenty bucks isn’t going to make a difference in a few weeks but it’s the principle.   
  
“Well I’ve got to meet my contact for a final lesson in woodblock prints,” Jihoon says, throwing the money on the table.  
  
“A ‘lesson’, right,” Woojin says teasingly, “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get into his pants.”  
  
“Shut up,” Jihoon says rolling of his eyes. Woojin doesn’t miss the way the tips of his ears go red, “No way.”  
  
“Sure, sure,” Woojin laughs with a shake of his head, “If you’re this bad at lying to him we have a problem.”  
  
“No, really,” Jihoon says insistently, leaning across the table, “He just, seems really sad all the time. He looks like he could use a friend.”  
  
“You’re not his friend Jihoon,” Woojin reminds him gently, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one can hear him before he adds, “You’re using him to rob his place of employment.”  
  
“I know,” Jihoon says, looking guilty about it. Jihoon isn’t used to these long grifting jobs, pickpockets rarely talk with their marks more than once. They’d all known his skills were more than good enough for it, but Woojin is starting to think maybe someone should have had a talk with him about not getting too emotionally attached, “But I still I can be nice to him until I have to leave right? He never has to know I’m connected.”  
  
“Sure,” Woojin says, since that’s kind of the point, “but what are you going to do after the job finishes? Be life long email buddies with him? Pen pals?”  
  
“Better him than you,” Jihoon tells him with a petulant scrunch of his nose.  
  
Woojin laughs, letting it rest for today. He should watch Jihoon though, make sure he doesn’t have to bring it up with Jonghyun, “Alright, I won’t keep you from your date then,” Woojin says as Jihoon gets up, “But remember Jonghyun has us working construction tonight. Don’t be late.”  
  
“Not a date,” Jihoon tells him sternly as he gets up from the table, “Anymore than this was.”  
  
“You’re telling me this wasn’t a date Park Jihoon?” Woojin calls after him trying not to laugh, “You’re breaking my heart.”  
  
Jihoon doesn’t look back as he leaves, but he does flip him off over his shoulder.  
  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
“So,” Daehwi says awkwardly to Woojin once they’d dropped Somi off at her apartment (it had taken five minutes for her to be convinced that yes they were going to make sure she was involved, no they weren’t just blowing her off), “Do we have anything to be worried about?”  
  
“Besides the fact we might be late to our meeting with Ahn?” He asks looking at the clock, “No? Why?”  
  
“Minhyun and Jonghyun just disagreed on something,” Daehwi whispers even though there’s no one else in the car, “Like, is the plan about to collapse or something? Am I curse on all criminal jobs I work?”  
  
“Calm down,” Woojin tells him with a shake of his head. Daehwi and his dramatic tendencies are usually pretty fun, just not in this sort of situation, “They disagreed, they’re allowed to do that.”   
  
Woojin won’t tell Daehwi but he is slightly put out by what they just witnessed.  
  
It’s not that Woojin thinks Jonghyun and Minhyun don’t fight, everyone fights especially couples. It’s that he’s never seen them fight in front of other people before, not in regards to a job. Jonghyun always likes to pretend he’s 100% in control of a job even if he’s not, that he just showed them he’s not in control is concerning.  
  
Concerning but probably not the end of the world.  
  
“But Mum and Dad are fighting,” Daehwi all but whines, kicking his legs in front of him.  
  
“So did my parents, but they never got divorced,” Woojin tells him as they pull up in front of the casino.  
  
“Wait,” Daehwi says turning to look at him in surprise, “Are you telling me they’re married?”  
  
Woojin snorts and gets out of the car not bothering to answer Daehwi. He probably wouldn’t have had a chance anyway, not with the way that Ahn’s men are swarming around them the second they get out of the car.  
  
“Mr Ahn asked us to escort you personally to his office,” One of the security people says, forced smile making him look even more intimidating somehow.  
  
“Lead the way then,” Woojin says, pushing Daehwi forward with his shoulder.  
  
“You know, I kind of feel like they’d pull out their guns and shoot me right here if I tried to leave now,” Daehwi mutters to Woojin, their shoulders brushing as they walk.  
  
“They wouldn’t,” Woojin reassures him, “It’d be a Public Relations nightmare.”  
  
“That doesn’t actually make me feel any better,” Daehwi says under his breath. He’s not quite enough though because one of the guards glares at him in warning, Daehwi clams his mouth shut at that and neither of them say anything else until they’re let into Ahn’s office.   
  
Ahn smiles at them in a way he probably thinks is charming as they take a seat in front of his desk after the pleasantries are out of the way, “So, Lee Daehwi,” Ahn says, lacing his fingers together, “You’ve been playing hard to get.”  
  
Daehwi laughs nervously shuffling closer to Woojin. Good, making Ahn think Woojin has all the influence, “I wouldn’t say that,” Daehwi says looking at Woojin for guidance.  
  
“He just wasn’t sure how serious you were,” Woojin takes over smoothly, “Leaving Cirque du Soleil mid contract is a big deal, especially to gain employment somewhere else. With a direct competitor.”  
  
“Of course, of course I understand how breaking a contract can be,” Ahn says reassuringly. He does have experience breaking contracts, but usually he gets away with no legal consequences through less than savoury means, “But I’d make it worth your while. More than worth your while.”  
  
“What do you want from me,” Daehwi asks defiantly. Ahn smiles at that, he enjoys bending bright spirits to his will and breaking those that don’t follow him. Daehwi’s doing well.  
  
“Well, first of all I want to build a show that puts those Canadians to shame. And I want to build it around the two best gymnasts in this country,” Ahn says, leaning forward conspiratorially.  
  
“And you want me to? Be a part of your show?” Daehwi asks, even though they’re both aware Ahn is talking about him. Woojin’s impressed; Daehwi is a bit of a natural at this.  
  
“No, I want you and a good friend of yours as the stars of my show. Korea’s brightest taking America by storm,” Ahn is charismatic, in an intimidating kind of way, Woojin will give him that.   
  
“You want me to be the star?” Daehwi asks in awe. Woojin’s not entirely sure this is all acting, “What’s the catch?”  
  
“Well the pairing is important, which means we need to get your friend on stage otherwise we’ll have to go back to the drawing board,” Ahn says looking very sympathetic, and entirely insincere, “I’m sure you understand how important chemistry is in these kind of shows.”  
  
“What friend?” Daehwi asks eagerly. They both know he’s talking about Somi, that was easier than Woojin ever imagined.   
  
“Well, who do you think you have the best chemistry with?” Ahn asks a leading question.  
  
“Somi,” Daehwi answers as if he barely had to think about it (He probably wouldn’t have to anyway).  
  
Ahn smiles like the cat that got the canary. Like he’s pulled off something amazing.  
  
But really, he’s the one that’s played right into their hands.  
  
A piece of cake.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Seongwoo seeks Woojin out one afternoon when neither of them have any jobs they need to be doing.  
  
Well, Seongwoo can always flash their sponsors money around the casino just to sure up his cover, but clearly he’s not in the mood to do as much right now.   
  
Instead, he’s come to bother Woojin, “Woojin, my guy, we haven’t had a chance to talk this job,” Seongwoo says, sitting on the couch next to him.  
  
Woojin side eyes him, not entirely sure what he’s playing at, “We’ve talked plenty.”  
  
“As out characters, not as each other. How are you? How are things? How do you like the team?” Seongwoo asks him, playful tilt to his mouth showing he’s teasing.  
  
“Fine, fine, it’d be better without some people,” He says giving Seongwoo a pointed look. Seongwoo clutches at his chest in exaggerated outrage.  
  
“This is how you repay me? After everything I’ve taught you? Everything I did to make you what you are? The youth of today are so rude,” he says, literally falling sideways into the arm rest. Woojin rolls his eyes.  
  
“At some point the student surpasses the master, it’s the way of life,” Woojin tells him with a shrug.  
  
“That is true,” Seongwoo smiles genuinely at him this time. Woojin likes to think thats pride he sees in Seongwoo’s eyes, though he could just be projecting.  
  
“How have you been?” Woojin finds himself compelled to ask, out of curiosity.  
  
Seongwoo goes quiet at that, looking at his hands, “I’ve been better? Not great,”  
  
Woojin is surprised at how honest Seongwoo as being. Maybe though, maybe no one has bothered to ask Seongwoo how he is. Maybe this whole job wouldn’t exist if Jonghyun had just bothered to talk to Seongwoo (maybe he’s selling Jonghyun short).  
  
“I’m sorry, about you know the break up,” Woojin tells him awkwardly. No matter how good he gets at grifting, honest conversations with people he cares about always make him feel awkward.  
  
“I guess it’s what I deserve for getting too reliant on another person,” Seongwoo says with a self pitying smile, a moment of weakness before he shakes himself off and straightens, “Anyway it doesn’t matter, I’m better than I was and that’s what matters right?”  
  
“Yeah I’ve always found crime is the best cure for all kinds of illnesses,” Woojin tells him deadpan. Seongwoo laughs.  
  
“Well, in that case how about we go commit some crimes to ward of that migraine you’ve been hiding from Jonghyun,” Seongwoo says, laying a heavy arm around his neck.  
  
“What? No migraine,” Woojin denies. It’s not a migraine, more like a tension headache he’s been carrying for a few days due to lack of sleep. It’s no big deal.  
  
Seongwoo raises an eyebrow at him, Woojin doesn’t even know how he knows but Seongwoo always knows.  
  
“Just a headache, I promise,” Woojin tells him honestly, “I’ve worked sicker before.”  
  
“We all remember, try not to get shingles again though,” Seongwoo says getting up and offering Woojin a hand, “If it’s going to affect the job though you have to tell Jonghyun, or I will. Okay? We can’t afford any surprises on this job,”  
  
“Okay,” Woojin agrees readily. It won’t stop him, a headache has never stopped him before.  
  
“But, how about a bit of friendly competition to chase it away,” Seongwoo says with that mischievous sparkle in his eye Woojin’s sorely been missing.   
  
“Money or numbers?” Woojin asks him, always up for the challenge.  
  
Seongwoo grins at him and Woojin knows exactly what he’s going to say.  
  
“Both,” they say in unison. Then they laugh.  
  
It’s nice. Woojin’s not sure what he missed more, Seongwoo or getting a chance to let loose.   
  


* * *

  
  
  
“Hey,” Woojin greats Jinyoung with a smile as he let’s himself into the home base suite one afternoon. Jinyoung’s the only one there, everyone else out on jobs (or the airport in Jonghyun’s case) so it’s quiet; calm for once (the calm before the storm).  
  
“Hi,” Jinyoung says not looking up from his computer. Woojin doesn’t take offence, Jinyoung has a lot to do. In all honesty they probably should have two people working tech for this job. Woojin understands why Jonghyun didn’t though, another person is another risk and another person to split their prize with.  
  
Woojin doesn’t bother trying to engage Jinyoung in conversation any further, instead he face plants onto the couch and considers having a nap. He’s got another shift in four hours, which is super illegal, but there’s nothing he can do about it.  
  
He’s not going to complain to Ahn, not when Jonghyun would be really inconvenienced if Woojin managed to get himself fired.  
  
It’s not his real job anyway, only a few more weeks to endure.   
  
He’s woken up from his doze by Jinyoung’s phone ringing, “Woojin?” Jinyoung asks him, “can you get that?”  
  
“Sure, pass it here,” Woojin sits up, wiping at his eyes. He remembers why he hates naps now, always feeling more groggy after waking up, despite their necessity sometimes in their line of work.  
  
Jinyoung throws the phone to him with a surprising degree of accuracy. Woojin still manages to drop it though. It stops ringing and starts again by the time he manages to fumble it into his hands and answer, “Hello. Jinyoung’s phone.”  
  
“Woojin?” It’s Jaehwan, “Where’s Jinyoung?”  
  
“Jinyoung’s not here anymore,” Woojin says as deadpan as he can manage, “His body is in the bath though.”  
  
Jaehwan doesn’t even laugh (Jinyoung snorts though) he just says, “Seriously Woojin, I need to talk to Jinyoung,”  
  
“Okay, okay chill out,” Woojin tells him since he can tell immediately that Jaehwan is seriously concerned about something, “What’s up?”  
  
“Have you seen Seongwoo today?” Jaehwan asks in concern. Oh.  
  
“Yeah, he was on the floor about an hour ago, at the slot machines?” Woojin says, wandering over towards Jinyoung, “Haven’t seen him since though, why?”  
  
Woojin’s sure he isn’t imagining the sigh of relief that Jaehwan releases, “He’s not answering his phone,”  
  
“He can’t really do that on the floor though,” Woojin reminds him. Sure people do but Seongwoo probably doesn’t want to risk bringing attention to himself in that sort of way.  
  
“Just for my piece of mind can you ask Jinyoung to track him down?” Jaehwan asks sounding edgy. Woojin feels like there’s something really important those two, Minhyun and Jonghyun are keeping from the rest of them. He doesn’t like it.  
  
“Do you want to tell me what this is about?” Woojin asks Jaehwan.  
  
“We just need Seongwoo to do something for the job and can’t get in contact with him. Nothing serious,” Jaehwan says easily. There’s a reason Jaehwan isn’t a grifter.  
  
“Okay, I’ll ask and let you know when we find him,” Woojin says hanging up on Jaehwan before parroting the request back to Jinyoung.  
  
“Well, I don’t really have the time to look through all the security footage right now and I’m tapped into their system so if I run a facial recognition search they’ll have Seongwoo’s face in their system,”  Jinyoung says in annoyance, looking up at Woojin with a glare.  
  
Anyone who ever said Jinyoung had no balls had clearly never seen him in his comfort zone.  
  
“Couldn’t you trace his phone to find out exactly where he is?” Woojin asks him curiously, hanging over the back of his chair, “Then just look at the closests?”  
  
“That…. Is actually a really good idea,” Jinyoung says already pulling up what Woojin can only assume is some sort of GPS program open.  
  
“It must be a blue moon.” Woojin tells him cheerfully.  
  
Jinyoung snorts a laugh, but doesn’t reply for a couple of minutes. Eventually he says, “Apparently he’s in the bathroom.”  
  
“Alright, no big deal,” Woojin says, pulling his phone out to call Jaehwan again. He pauses, “Actually can you let me know where he goes after that? It’ll be easier to just tell him Jaehwan is looking for him.”  
  
“Sure, sure,” Jinyoung agrees easily.   
  
Woojin sits next to him quietly, texting Jihoon so it takes a while before he realises that almost half an hour as passed without Jinyoung giving him the heads up, “Hey, you never told me where he went,”  
  
“I had an alert set up, it never went off,” Jinyoung says defensively, pulling the GPS back up, “That’s strange it says he’s still in the bathroom? But it’s been twenty minutes.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Woojin asks, because that doesn’t sound right.  
  
“Yes, I’m sure,” Jinyoung snaps back before apologising, “Sorry. I’m sure. But what could he possibly be doing?”  
  
“Maybe he’s hooking up with someone,” Woojin suggests jokingly.  
  
“He’s got a room for that,” Jinyoung dismisses with a shake of his head, “Maybe he left his phone behind?” he looks up at Woojin expectantly.  
  
“I guess I’d better go and check then hadn’t I,” Woojin gets up with a groan. He should have crashed in one of the bedrooms instead and avoided this whole farce.  
  
“Thank you,” Jinyoung smiles at him cheerfully.  
  
Woojin sighs and leaves the room, finding his way to the correct bathroom with the directions Jinyoung sent to his phone. There’s an out of order cleaning sign in front of the door but Woojin ignores it, stepping around it into the bathroom.  
  
He can’t see Seongwoo immediately, can’t see or hear anyone.  As he steps further into the bathroom though, Seongwoo comes into view. He’s not alone. He’s talking to another guy, slightly taller than him at the other end of the room. The other guy does not look happy to see Seongwoo, but Seongwoo’s body language is almost desperate.  
  
Woojin really hopes this isn’t what he thinks it is.  
  
They’re talking quietly but everyone now and then Woojin can catch a few words. “Want to know why?” he hears Seongwoo whisper furtively.  
  
“...know why.” The other guy shoots back looking entirely unimpressed.  
  
“Don’t… why I’m here,” Seongwoo is almost pleading. Woojin has never seen this side of him before. Sure he’s seen Seongwoo plead, but never as himself only as part of a role he’s playing.  
  
“Ruin my life again? Rob…..place of employment?” The man shoots back. So he knows about Seongwoo and what he does. Maybe he’s another thief? He sounds too disapproving for that though.  
  
“No, I just want to see you,” Seongwoo says, voice rising, “I just came to find you.”  
  
“Well I don’t want to see you Seongwoo. Not after what you did to me.” The other man is yelling now. It’s probably going to attract attention soon, out of order sign or not “I had to leave Seoul to get away from it.”  
  
“I don’t know,” Seongwoo says quietly, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one’s come in. Woojin shrinks back though he’s sure he can’t be seen.  
  
“You don’t even have the balls to admit to it, still lying like it’s your job then,” The other man says, bitterly. But there’s also hurt under there. It’s definitely a conversation Seongwoo wouldn’t want overheard.  
  
Woojin has heard enough anyway he decides as he creeps away and leaves the bathroom.  
  
He’s not sure whether or not to confront Seongwoo about this or not. He doesn’t know whether he should give Seongwoo the chance to give his side of the story.  
  
The problem is he knows Seongwoo, he knows that if talks to him inevitably Seongwoo will be able to convince Woojin not to tell any of the others what he just saw (because he’s obviously trying to keep it a secret).  
  
Jonghyun needs to know because Woojin has a terrible feeling that this person Seongwoo is arguing with has to be Daniel. He’s never met Daniel before but from what he’s overheard there isn’t any other explanation that makes sense.   
  
In that case there never was a decision to make.  
  
Woojin turns on his heel, steadfast in his decision to find and tell Jonghyun. Even if it means the job has to be called off.  
  
Even if it means Seongwoo is mad at him.  
  
In the long run he’ll thank him. Woojin hopes.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look guys, plot. Finally. 
> 
>  
> 
> Okay I’m actually just going to update once a week still for the next two weeks because I have something else I’m working on I’d really like to get finished by my (Ong’s) birthday. After that we should be back to the two chapters a week thing though :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We take a break from our regularly scheduled heist to deal with Seongwoo’s Emotional Issues™

Jonghyun likes to believe that he’s somewhat of a calm and rational person. That he’s not prone to quick judgements or fits of temper. In this job irrationality can get you arrested or killed but Jonghyun’s been like this as long as he can remember. Empathetic rationality over rash emotions.  
  
Right now though for the first time in his adult life he’s seriously considering violence as an option.  
  
After Woojin’s dramatic entrance Jonghyun had dragged him away from the study to ask him what on earth he was talking about. He was less surprised than he wanted to be when Woojin recounted his story of Seongwoo arguing with someone in the bathroom.  
  
Jonghyun knows Woojin has never met Daniel, as far as he knew the only other people on this job who had met him were Minhyun and Jaehwan. Still he comes to much the same conclusion as Woojin does, that Seongwoo arguing with Daniel is the only thing that makes sense.  
  
He has to be absolutely sure though before he goes to confront Seongwoo so the two of them take a trip to the hotel to review the security tapes. There’s no camera’s in the bathrooms for obvious reasons but Jonghyun watches with a sinking feeling as the recorded version of Woojin sneaks out of the bathroom, followed only a few minutes later by a very familiar, very angry broad shouldered figure.  
  
Jonghyun feels a migraine coming on.  
  
“I take it from your face that is Daniel?” Woojin asks him cautiously as Jonghyun fights the unfamiliar feeling of resenment rising inside him.  
  
How could Seongwoo have been so irresponsible?  
  
“Unfortunately,” Jonghyun says, pacing behind Jinyoung’s chair as the two of them watch him hesitantly, “Fuck.”  
  
“What do we do?” Jinyoung ventures to ask.  
  
“Firstly, don’t tell anyone about this until I figure out a plan,” Jonghyun says, rubbing at his temples. Thankfully keeping movement is keeping his annoyance under control. Relatively speaking “Anyone, not Minhyun or Jaehwan or Seongwoo.”  
  
“You’re not going to tell Minhyun?” Woojin asks him with a frown.  
  
“I’m not going to tell Minhyun yet.” Jonghyun corrects him, there is a distinct difference “Let me figure things out first,” Jonghyun says. No matter how annoyed he is at Seongwoo right now he’s not going to subject him to Minhyun until he at least hears his side of the story.  
  
“You’re the boss,” Woojin mutters under his breath clearly disagreeing with Jonghyun’s course of action. Jonghyun ignores him.  
  
“Can you check the footage to see if that’s their first encounter or there have been others?” He asks Jinyoung, stopping his pacing.  
  
Jinyoung nods quickly before setting to work. That’s good.  
  
“And Can you ask around, see if you can find out anything about him?” He directs this at Woojin.  
  
“Sure,” Woojin nods more determinedly than Jinyoung, “It might take me a couple of days though? Otherwise it’ll look pretty suspicious.”  
  
“It’s okay take your time,” Jonghyun tells Woojin with a pat on his shoulder, “It’s not urgent but we will need to find out if there are any adjustments we need to make.”  
  
“What are you going to do?” Jinyoung asks without looking up from his computer. It might be Jonghyun’s imagination but Jinyoung’s confidence has seemed to grow over this job.  
  
“I am going to have a talk with an old friend, and then call in a favour from Kenta,” Jonghyun says, pulling his phone out of his pocket.  
  
“Anything Kenta can do I can do as well,” Jinyoung says, looking up this time only so he can pout at Jonghyun.  
  
“I know, but I don’t want anyone knowing that I’m working with you,” Jonghyun tells him tapping the phone against his fingers. Anyone who knows Jonghyun would know that his first choice for a favour in the tech world would not be Jinyoung, “I don’t want anyone to know I’m working a job, period.”  
  
“If you insist,” Jinyoung says, looking slightly disgruntled. Jonghyun makes a mental note to stroke his ego at a later date but for now he excuses himself to the bedroom to make the necessary call.  
  
He dials the number and waits, the phone almost ringing out before it’s answered.  
  
Of course he’s not expecting the chirpy female voice on the other end, “Welcome to If It’s Illegal We Can Find it Incorporated, unfortunately Big Scary Teddy Bear boss man is unable to come to the phone right now but if you give me your name and the super illegal thing you need to discreetly find I can give you a quote for how much it’ll cost you. Remember the more illegal the thing the more eager we are.”  
  
It takes Jonghyun’s overworked brain a few seconds to figure out what’s going on, having to check to see if he’s dialled the wrong number before he realises, “Kyulkyung,” he sighs, “You’re going to get yourself arrested.”  
  
“That’s not my standard phone greeting, don’t worry,” she says with a laugh, her tone slightly condescending, “Boss man has caller ID though and told me to answer the phone like that if you ever called.”  
  
“He told you to call him a Big Scry Teddy Bear?” Jonghyun can’t help asking incredulously. The inane conversation is exactly what he needs to let just enough of the tension out of his shoulders that he can think a little clearer.  
  
“Well no I might have taken a few creative liberties,” she admits entirely shamelessly, “But he really isn’t around at the moment, him and Nayoung are out trying to find a sapphire or something? I’m not really sure.”  
  
“They’re actually doing some leg work?” Jonghyun asks as playfully as he can manage. He’s sure to anyone that knows him well he sounds a bit off but he only really ever interacts with Kyulkyung when he goes to visit Dongho.  
  
“That’d be nice, but actually maybe you can help me.” Jonghyun tells her.  
  
“I’m not very good at the finding things part of this, I’m more customer service,” she admits to him. Jonghyun knows that very much but he’s not looking to find something.  
  
“I don’t need something found, I just need to know if Dongho helped Seongwoo find someone three or four months ago,” Jonghyun explains hoping Kyulkyung will know. She does seem to have a decent memory, and even better record keeping skills - the entire reason she works there.  
  
There’s a long silence, so long Jonghyun speaks again, “If you don’t know it’s fine get him to call me back.”  
  
“I know he didn’t,” She admits in a small voice, “Because I did. Was I not supposed to? Dongho never told me I wasn’t supposed to.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Jonghyun tells her. This explains a lot though. Obviously Seongwoo’s first port of call in finding anything would be Dongho, he is the best after all. Jonghyun had been sure though that Dongho would refuse to enable Seongwoo stalking his ex or at the very least let Jonghyun know what Seongwoo had been up to.  
  
“You called so it probably isn’t,” Kyulkyung says with that way of hers.  
  
“Well no, but you couldn’t have known what he was up to,” Jonghyun reassures her, “What did he want to know?”  
  
“He just wanted to know where a Kang Euigeon was?” Euigeon. That’s a name Jonghyun hadn’t heard in a while. “And I told him he was working at Ahn Junhyung’s Hokusai gallery? It was really easy honestly I didn’t even need to ask Nayoung for help,” She confesses to him, “He probably could have figured it out himself? That Ahn Junhyung seems to have a thing for him.”  
  
Of course he does because everything about this job has to be ten times more complicated than he’d like.  
  
“Thanks Kyulkyung,” Jonghyun says feeling that tensions creeping back, “Before I let you go though could you perhaps tell me if you know where Yoon Jisung is?”  
  
“Sure,” Kyulkyung says straight away, “I don’t even need to look that up, that’s the name of Kang Euigeon’s roommate. I can’t remember exactly where he works though, I can check?”  
  
“No, that’s alright,” Jonghyun says, He knows what he needed to know. It’s exactly what he dreaded.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Jonghyun calls that favour in with Kenta and gets him to track the ‘unknown’ number that keeps calling him.  
  
Thankfully Kenta, even though he’d been on the same job as Sungwoon, doesn’t actually know anything about the job Jonghyun is currently running or that Jinyoung is on it. If he did he’d definitely question why Jonghyun was coming to him.  
  
Sometimes he feels paranoid not telling friends and contacts any details about the jobs he’s working  but times like this make him glad for the extra level of ‘paranoia’.  
  
“You know when I said I owed you a favour over the Choi job I expected it to be a lot bigger than this,” Kenta says conversationally as he’s running the number down.  
  
“Well this person has been calling me multiple times a day so, I need to know who it is and if I should be worried but neither Minhyun nor I are any good at this stuff, you know that.” Jonghyun explains with a little laugh. Kenta buys it, probably only because he can’t seen Jonghyun.  
  
“True, you’d probably manage to destroy the internet,” Kenta says lightly, making small talk for all of a few minutes before he says, “Alright, that number looks to be registered to someone called Jason Yoon. The phone was purchased in Chicago and last used in Clark County. Does that help?”  
  
Kenta doesn’t make mention of Jisung even though he’s worked with him a handful of times and must have drawn the same conclusion Jonghyun had initially.  
  
“It does, thank you,” Jonghyun says carefully.  
  
“Anytime, especially if all your favours are this easy,” Kenta says easily, chatting for a few more minutes about how he misses being able to get out of Japan to work jobs with Jonghyun (probably idle flattery) before hanging up.  
  
Jisung’s calls have started coming in around the same time everyday (Jonghyun doesn’t know why he continues to bother) so he only has to wait a couple more minutes before one comes through.  
  
Jonghyun picks it up, “Hello?”  
  
“You’re not one to answer unknown numbers,” Jisung’s familiar voice floats down the line.  
  
“Well, this weirdo has been calling me everyday for the last week and a bit,” Jonghyun tells him carefully, trying to make his words seem light yet significant at the same time, “So I figured I’d better find out who was trying to get in touch.”  
  
“You tracked my number?” Jisung asks not actually sounding offended in any way.  
  
“You called me from an unknown number, you had to know I wouldn’t answer,” Jonghyun tells him. He doesn’t know why Jisung had done it, maybe he assumed Jonghyun would reverse search the number before now. Maybe he figured enough calls from the same number would pique Jonghyun’s curiosity.  
  
Whatever his logic he was clearly very desperate to get in contact with Jonghyun but not with his old phone, the one Jonghyun has saved in his contacts.  
  
“I figured you’d call in a favour eventually,” Jisung tells him with a laugh that’s not genuine, “Didn’t think it would take you this long.”  
  
“Well, I had to see who would be trying to contact me so urgently,” Jonghyun says before outright lying for the first time, “But I was on vacation. Getting used to the outside world again.”  
  
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to know. How jail treated you, I’m sure there’s a story as to how you ended up there,” Jisung’s words are weighted. He’s known Jonghyun a long time, surely he must have at least suspected Seongwoo was involved in his arrest.  
  
“I was a little bit careless, but this isn’t a story for the phone lines,” Jonghyun tells him smoothly. It’s true, even if this was just a social call he wouldn’t talk about it over the phone.  
  
It’s not just a social call though, they’re both aware there’s so much below the surface - an unvoiced conversation.  
  
“What have you done since you got out?” Jisung asks.  
  
“Caught up with Minhyun, mostly. It was tough, being away from him for so long,” Jonghyun admits. It’s the truth and Jisung knows it’s the truth.  
  
“I don’t suppose you’ve seen Seongwoo?” Jisung cuts to the chase, finally.    
  
And in what has to be the only case of good timing he’s had on this entire case Seongwoo choses that moment to walk into the room.  
  
Jonghyun had called him, asking to meet here but the timing was perfect. Seongwoo walks into the room quietly and takes a seat, having learned his lesson about announcing his presence in a room when Jonghyun was on the phone a long time ago.  
  
“Jisung,” Jonghyun says pointedly, so Seongwoo knows who he’s talking to.  
  
It’s a testament to Seongwoo’s skills he doesn’t outwardly react, though Jonghyun knows him well enough he can see the tension and apprehension creep in.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Jisung says straight back, “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”  
  
“Seongwoo did come and visit me just after I got out,” Jonghyun admits which is 100% the truth, “But I don’t know where he is now. I don’t make a habit of tracking my associates.”  
  
“I find that hard to believe,” Jisung says with a chuckle that’s a bit loaded, “We all know Seongwoo is different. Not just an associate.”  
  
“Why do you want to know?” Jonghyun asks him, letting the protective instincts leak into his voice.  
  
“I just want to know what he’s up to,” Jisung says. It’s the stupidest reason ever but Jonghyun has no reason to hide it, “I have some business I might want to discuss with him.”  
  
“Call him,” Jonghyun tells him shortly.  
  
“Seongwoo changes numbers more often than you reject calls,” Jisung says smoothly. Jonghyun finds that hard to believe, Seongwoo has had the same number as long as he’s known him.  
  
He answers anyway.  
  
“I don’t know where he is, but last time I spoke to him he mentioned maybe having a job with one of Kahi’s girls in Las Vegas,” Jonghyun says with a sigh, like he’s reluctantly admitting something. He’s not, he’s telling Jisung exactly what he clearly already knows.  
  
Seongwoo shoots Jonghyun a betrayed look that irritates him like nothing else.  
  
Like Seongwoo has any right to feel betrayed in this situation. This clusterfuck that is entirely of his making.  
  
“Okay, thanks Jonghyun,” Jisung says.  
  
“Do you want his number,” Jonghyun offers just to see Seongwoo’s eyes widen in panic. Just for a fraction of a second.  
  
“No, it’s okay. He’s clearly busy,” Jisung says in a way that’s not even trying to be believable anymore.  
  
“Alright,” Jonghyun says not pushing it because he wants this conversation to be over before he does let something slip he doesn’t want to.  
  
Also because he needs to talk to Seongwoo.  
  
“Well, I wouldn’t want to steal you away from Minhyun so I’ll talk later?” Jisung says, clearly as eager to be finished with this conversation now that he’s got the information he wants.  
  
“Don’t be a stranger,” Jonghyun says, entirely sincerely for the first time this conversation. It’s awkward in a way that talking with Jisung never has been but he still misses him.  
  
Jisung can clearly sense the sincerity because when he agrees he sounds warmer than he has this entire conversation.  
  
Then he hangs up.  
  
Jonghyun has barely had a chance to lower the phone from his ear when Seongwoo demands, “Why did you tell him where I was?”  
  
“Why shouldn’t I?” Jonghyun asks him trying to keep his voice level, keep Seongwoo in the dark about what this is about for as long as possible. Like Seongwoo’s kept him in the dark.  
  
“Because that’s the way this works? We don’t go spilling details of the job with people who aren’t working the job,” Seongwoo says. It’d be a believable argument if Jonghyun didn’t know the truth.  
  
“I didn’t mention anything about the job,” Jonghyun says cooly, “I just told him where you were.”  
  
“Why? You should have lied!” Seongwoo says managing to sound rational and angry at the same time.  
  
“He already knows where you are Seongwoo, he’s testing me. If I lie then he gets suspicious and we all go down,” Jonghyun tells him.  
  
Seongwoo shoots him a clueless look at that which is frankly insulting, “How on earth would he know where I was?”  
  
“Well Daniel knows where you are,” Jonghyun says taking no satisfaction in the way Seongwoo’s whole body freezes up at that, “So it’s a safe bet to say Jisung knows where you are.”  
  
“Daniel-” Seongwoo starts to say, tripping over the name just a little as he does whenever he’s mentioned Daniel since the break up.  
  
“Save it Ong Seongwoo,” Jonghyun snaps at him, letting the anger and disappointment out, just a little before reining it in and continuing on quietly but firmly, “I know Daniel works at the Hokusai gallery. I know that you’ve known this all along which is why you picked Ahn’s place in the first place and I know you got into an argument with him this afternoon in a fucking bathroom at the Casino. So don’t you dare try and insult my intelligence by lying to me.”  
  
Seongwoo’s mouth snaps shut at that, he looks entirely chastised like he’s been taken surprise by Jonghyun’s outburst.  
  
Jonghyun hasn’t seen him this uncertain since the early days of their friendship.  
  
“I-“ Seongwoo starts to say before he stops himself, “You’re right. About all of it.”  
  
Jonghyun sighs. He knew that, he had all the facts, but somehow having Seongwoo confirm it just makes it worse.  
  
He feels stupid for not noticing it earlier. He had noticed Seongwoo’s behaviour was off but had written it off. He’d given Seongwoo the benefit of the doubt more than once and now it had come to bite him in the ass.  
  
 Minhyun was right, maybe he was too soft on Seongwoo.  
  
“You know, a few times I considered that Daniel would have something to do with why you were so set on this target. Minhyun wanted to check up on Daniel’s location just to be safe but I trusted you. I didn’t think you’d be so selfish or stupid to put the team at risk like that. I thought you were better than that,” Jonghyun says, watching as Seongwoo flinches at the words. Taking satisfaction in that and then feeling like a terrible person straight after.  
  
“I didn’t mean to put the team at risk, I didn’t,” Seongwoo tells him steadfast.  
  
“And if Daniel reports you to the police once we rob the gallery? If he puts two and two together and realises his ex-boyfriend a professional thief was hanging around just before it happens?” Jonghyun has to know if Seongwoo has put any thought into this. Had any regard for the rest of them.  
  
“He wouldn’t,” Seongwoo insists in a way that says he doesn’t really believe what he’s saying, “And anyway he only saw me. No one else”  
  
“Daniel knows you don’t work alone,” Jonghyun says. Seongwoo is smarter than this, he taught Seongwoo better than this all those years ago.  
  
“You and Minhyun and Jaehwan are the only ones he knows from that world, the only ones he’s met. He wouldn’t turn you in,”  Seongwoo insists.  
  
Jonghyun wants to believe that but he didn’t think Daniel would ever actually leave Seongwoo.  
  
“It’s not good enough Seongwoo, if one of us is caught there’s a chance all of us could be caught,” Jonghyun pulls at his ear lobe in frustration.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Seongwoo admits looking down at his hands. Jonghyun want’s to believe he’s genuine but he can’t bring himself to. Not really.  
  
“I hope you know that the only reason I am not walking away from this job right now is because there are nine other people who have invested their time and skills and money into it,” Jonghyun tells him. Even then he has to re-evaluate. Maybe they do need to drop and run (and live in debt to Boa for the rest of their lives).  
  
“Yeah,” Seongwoo says lamely. Part of Jonghyun is glad that Seongwoo is giving him enough respect not to lie to his face or try and talk his way out of it, the other part of him is concerned at the uncharacteristic silence.  
  
After everything he’s still worried for Seongwoo.  
  
“Look, I don’t know what happened between you and Daniel, I respect you don’t like to talk about it but surely there were better ways to go about whatever it is you’re trying to do then robbing his workplace and putting the rest of us at risk,” Jonghyun says trying to coax an explanation out of Seongwoo.  
  
“I didn’t really think about it as robbing his workplace, it’s robbing Ahn,” Seongwoo says.  
  
“If that was the truth we’d have robbed any one of Ahn’s other ventures. You had dozens to chose from,” Jonghyun points out with a disappointed sigh. So much for Seongwoo giving him respect “Can you for once in your life just be level with me.”  
  
“I just wanted to talk to him,” Seongwoo tells him looking down, “Find out what happened?”  
  
“What do you mean?” Jonghyun asks, eyebrows raised to his hairline. Being evasive is Seongwoo’s main mode of operation, but being cryptic is not.  
  
“I mean find out what happened. I mean get Daniel to talk to me, I mean get an explanation as to why he left like that because I don’t understand,” Seongwoo says looking up at Jonghyun with teary eyes. Straight away Jonghyun knows he’s genuine, can feel his distress.  
  
  It breaks Jonghyun’s heart, the last time he saw Seongwoo like this was when Jonghyun helped him escape the system.  
  
“What don’t you understand?” Jonghyun asks gently, reaching out to grab Seongwoo’s hand.  
  
“What happened? What went wrong,” Seongwoo admits, refusing to look Jonghyun in the eye, “I mean, if I knew I could fix it or accept it but I don’t know. I need to know Jonghyun,” Seongwoo says imploringly.  
  
“It’s been months Seongwoo, you need to let it go. Respect his decision,” Jonghyun says, Daniel deserves that much.  
  
“If you came home from a job to find that Minhyun had just, moved out of your house, changed jobs, changed his number no explanation. Just tried to erase himself from your life could you just move on?” Seongwoo asks looking straight at Jonghyun now.  
  
Jonghyun wishes he hadn’t, Seongwoo looks shattered.  
  
“No,” Jonghyun admits, as the silence stretches on, “Is that what happened?”  
  
No wonder Minhyun had never been able to get details out of Seongwoo, he didn’t know.  
  
“You know that job I pulled with Minhyun in Dubai in March?” Seongwoo asks, like Jonghyun could forget it. Seongwoo had said it would be his last job in the while, he wanted to go out with a bang. Get enough money to buy a house with Daniel. A house and a ring. “I came home and he was gone. No trace of him. Just an angry voicemail.”  
  
“An angry voice mail?” Jonghyun raises his eyebrow, that sounds entirely out of character.  
  
Seongwoo nods despondently, pulling out his phone and playing it. Because of course Seongwoo kept the voicemail - he probably listened to it on a regular basis to torture himself, “Seongwoo what the fuck did you do? How could you do this to me? You know I don’t like your job but I respected you enough to let you do what you wanted - I loved you enough but how could you not do the same? I don’t understand why you would do this to me. I’m leaving. Don’t come looking or the police will end up with a very detailed description of some of your past activities. I hope Karma brings you all you deserve.”  
  
“Seongwoo, what did you do?” Jonghyun asks. Daniel didn’t get angry, not really, not that Jonghyun had ever heard.  
  
“I don’t know,” Seongwoo says, so desperately that Jonghyun believes him, “I fucked up. A lot. There were a lot of reasons Daniel could have left and I wouldn’t have blamed him but nothing new, nothing had changed then. I don’t know why. That’s all I want to know,”  
  
Jonghyun understands where Seongwoo is coming from, he empathises. He stills thinks what he did was stupid and risky and self-centred as fuck.  
  
“You should have told me this,” Jonghyun tells him, holding up his hand before Seongwoo can interrupt, “Not because of the job but eight months ago, because Seongwoo it’s not okay. The way you’ve been acting. It’s not healthy for you and it’s not fair on anyone else.”  
  
“I know,” Seongwoo admits readily. It’s odd, Seongwoo’s not one for admitting fault out loud, he’s more of a silent gestures to make up for it once he admits he’s wrong to himself, “I guess I’m still trying to find out who I am?”  
  
“What?” Jonghyun is completely lost now.  
  
“It’s hard keeping a sense of yourself when you’re grifting, outside of work. Especially because before you found me I was no one,” Seongwoo admits.  
  
“You weren’t no one,” Jonghyun says insistently. Of this he feels very strongly, “You were someone.”  
  
“If no one cares about you are you really anyone?” Seongwoo asks him rhetorically. Jonghyun forgets sometimes, how fucked up Seongwoo had it, because he acts so well adjusted nowadays.  
  
Maybe that was an act too.  
  
“It was hard and then I found Daniel and he was outside or entire world and he made it so easy to be Seongwoo, you know? Except I fucked up because I tied my sense of self too closely to him, I just, I don’t know I like who I am without him,” Seongwoo admits.  
  
Jonghyun’s reeling. He’s angry and disappointed but he’s also hurting for Seongwoo. Today has been a mess.  
  
“I’m not sure anyone likes who you’ve been the last few months, because you’ve not been yourself Seongwoo. Not entirely,” Jonghyun tells him. Seongwoo needs tough love, always has.  
  
“I’ve been an asshole,” Seongwoo admits, with a shrug, “But I don’t know what I’m doing.”  
  
“That’s what I’m for stupid,” Jonghyun sighs, reaching out to pull Seongwoo into his side. He should have forced Seongwoo to talk earlier, then they might never have ended up here, “I knew you before you knew Daniel. I’ve known you longer than I’ve known Minhyun and I’ve always loved you, Ong Seongwoo.”  
  
“Thanks,” Seongwoo ducks his head into Jonghyun’s shoulder, looking pleased.  
  
“I’m still really fucking disappointed in Ong Seongwoo right now though,” Jonghyun has to say, Seongwoo has to know. Just because Jonghyun understands now doesn’t mean he forgives.  
  
“I am too,” Seongwoo says with a sigh.  
  
“As long as you know,” Jonghyun says, letting Seongwoo doze off on his shoulder as he tries to work his way through this Daniel problem now that he’s got more information.  
  
There’s not much he can do yet though, he needs to get Woojin’s information and call Kahi at the very least.  
  
“Are you going to tell Minhyun?” Seongwoo asks him in a small voice, startling him out of his train of thoughts.  
  
“Not yet, no,” Jonghyun tells him tightening his arms around his shoulder. Woojin caused enough of a scene though that it’s going to get back to Minhyun (He’d put money of Guanlin telling Seonho and Minhyun the minute they returned home).  
  
“Why?” Seongwoo asks, sounding genuinely surprised.  
  
“I want to give you the chance,” Jonghyun tells him softly. There’s probably more to it than that, if he’s really honest with himself, but the main reason is for Seongwoo.  
  
Also he really doesn’t want to admit to Minhyun he was right about Seongwoo all along.  
  
“Not because you’re mad about him making decisions without you and you’re doing the same?” Seongwoo asks him teasingly, back his default setting albeit slightly more reserved.  
  
“Obviously not,” Jonghyun says. It really isn't’ about that, he wouldn’t put this job at risk for a petty grudge, “and obviously you want me to call him right now and tell him Daniel is here with no other explanation.”  
  
“Okay, I’ll tell him,” Seongwoo says grudgingly, looking like he’d rather do anything else.  
  
“If you don’t by tomorrow afternoon then I will,” Jonghyun says warningly. By then he should know if he’s able to salvage the job or not, “Maybe he’ll understand.”  
  
Seongwoo shakes his head, “He probably won’t understand.”  
  
“He’ll be angry,” Jonghyun concedes. He’ll be less angry if Seongwoo confesses. A little. Maybe.  
  
“He has every right to be,” Seongwoo says. It makes Jonghyun proud, in a weird way.  
  
“Come on,” he eventually says, dislodging Seongwoo from his shoulder and getting up from the couch.  
  
“Where are we going?” Seongwoo asks curiously but not complaining.  
  
“We are spending the night at your hotel room whilst I see if I can salvage this job,” Jonghyun says. It’s not even meant to be a guilt trip but Seongwoo still looks down in shame.  
  
“You just don’t want to be near Minhyun,” Seongwoo accuses.  
  
“He’ll take one look at me and know that something happened, so if you want the chance to tell him that’s what we’re doing,” Jonghyun tells Seongwoo pointedly.  
  
“Okay, my place it is,” Seongwoo says before breaking out into a (slightly forced) smile, “Sleepover time! Yay.”  
  
Jonghyun can’t help but laugh at that which is a relief.  
  
Maybe things won’t be a disaster. They won’t run smoothly, Seongwoo has made this twenty times harder than it needed to be (if he just hadn’t approached Daniel) but maybe they can still salvage a job.  
  
For everyone’s sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote a really cracky scene of the other fic im working on right now followed by finishing this so … that was an interesting disconnect (I’m sorry I keep doing The Same thing to Ong though across like every fic rip tho I promise I really do like him. A lot.)
> 
> But anyway I'm super nervous about this chapter because even though it's what I've had planned all along re: the Ongniel situ people are way more interested than I expected so IDK if it's like a cliche or let down at this point? eep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here we are actually on Friday again - I thought I’d have my other fic ready to publish today but my gorgeous beta from another fandom offered to work her magic on it so it's not ready yet
> 
> Instead here is the next chapter because writing 20K of that fic in a week wasn’t enough writing for me (though I gotta say I Struggled with this chapter even tho I’ve had it plotted out for ages - My brain was like “but why write something without Daniel when you could write Daniel” so there is that - but we finished so that’s all that matters)
> 
> Anyway no one wants to hear about that so here is another chapter of melodrama but it felt like I needed to cover it before moving on. Next chapter is back to the job at hand :).

Jonghyun spends the night in Seongwoo’s hotel room making sure to keep the conversation well away from Daniel or how badly Seongwoo screwed up or anything about the job really.  
  
He makes sure Seongwoo knows he’s disappointed of course, but he doesn’t push the issue. Partially because he genuinely feels bad for Seongwoo, he knows how much he loves Daniel after all, but also because he knows he’s going to get enough shit from Minhyun for the both of him.  
  
There’s also the fact that he feels responsible, like if he’d just taken the time to press Seongwoo instead of giving him space way then none of this would have happened. His jail sentence or this job going wildly off the rails. This job at all.  
  
That is a thought for another day though and he pushes it right to the back of his mind choosing instead to keep Seongwoo’s mind off everything to do with the job by talking about everything and nothing. The past and the future with no mention of the present.  
  
Eventually Seongwoo insists that Jonghyun take the bed and sleeps, Jonghyun would argue but he’s tired and he knows Seongwoo probably isn’t going to sleep tonight anyway.  
  
When Jonghyun does fall asleep Seongwoo is sitting on the couch in the room - laptop perched on his lap typing away (Jonghyun had seriously considered confiscating Seongwoo’s laptop at one point but there was no point - the damage was already done. Plus he knows Seongwoo well if Seongwoo feels like he’s being punished or patronised he’s only going to act out)  
  
When he wakes up in the morning Seongwoo is gone - Jonghyun can only hope that he’s gone to find Minhyun and not Daniel or to continue the job.  
  
He itches to call Jinyoung up and confirm that for him but he doesn’t. He wants to believe it’s because he trusts Seongwoo but really he knows that Jinyoung is already on edge about this whole situation - they can’t afford for him to get any more distracted or nervous.  
  
He pulls the covers of the bed around his shoulders like a cape as he grabs his phone to draft an email to Kahi (She can be tricky - he really needs to get his opening communication spot on). He’s right in the middle of it when his phone in his hand starts to ring, startling him.  
  
It’s Seonho.  
  
“Seonho, good morning,” Jonghyun says as cheerily as possible. More members of the team than he’d like know there’s a problem already, the more of them he can keep from worrying the better.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Seonho whispers down the phone, there’s a hushed mumble, Jonghyun assumes Seonho is continuing to speak but he can’t for the life of him make out any actual words  
  
“Seonho I can’t hear you,” Jonghyun sighs, not sure if Seonho has finished talking or not.  
  
“Oh,” Seonho says before he repeats (still so quietly that Jonghyun has to strain his hearing), “Minhyun just threatened to dig a hole in the middle of the dessert to bury Seongwoo up to his head in and then leave him there to die.”  
  
Jonghyun probably shouldn’t be surprised about that. So much for keeping any of the team from worrying. “Well, that’s an inventive threat,” he says carefully.  
  
“He’s really mad, he’s actually yelling. I’m not sure what Seongwoo did but I’ve never seen Minhyun this angry before,” Seonho tells his story like he’s talking about something he finds really exciting rather than something potentially disastrous.  
  
“Is that right?” Jonghyun asks, wanting to know more details but not wanting Minhyun to overhear Seonho.  
  
“Yeah,” Seonho says before he pauses. Jonghyun waits, unsure if he’s whispering again or if he’s waiting for Jonghyun to say something. Eventually he speaks, “Jonghyun, where are you?”  
  
“I’m at the casino,” Jonghyun answers, not giving exact details of where he is because that’s sure to rouse Seonho’s curiosity.  
  
“Can we come and visit?” Seonho asks him. He doesn’t need to elaborate on who the we is.  
  
“You don’t need to ask me to come to the casino, it’s part of your cover,” Jonghyun points out, playing with the quilt in his lap.  
  
“Can we come and see you?” Seonho asks, stressing the you.  
  
Jonghyun isn’t sure what they want to see him for but he’d rather they come to him then run off gossiping to someone else, “I’m in Seongwoo’s room.”  
  
“Oh, you know what this is about, don’t you,” Seonho accuses him like Jonghyun feared.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t answer him, just sits in silence for a few seconds since he knows Seonho has the compulsion to fill it. Sure enough it’s barely twenty seconds before Seonho is speaking again, “Alright, we’re coming to you but you better have an explanation.”  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t owe Seonho an explanation of anything so he just makes a noncommittal noise (Seonho’s probably not really listening to his response anyway) before Seonho signs off in his usual whirlwind way.  
  
He returns to his email and has just sent it to Kahi when the hotel room door opens.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Seonho cries once the door has slammed shut behind him, “Minhyun is mad at Seongwoo and threatening to murder him and I kind of believe he might actually do it, the job is ruined.”  
  
“That key card is only meant to be used for the job, not breaking into your teammates room,” Jonghyun scolds Seonho slightly. The less the keycard is used the smaller the chance of it being noticed and cancelled.  
  
“Jonghyun, this is important,” Seonho whines. Guanlin trails behind him, quieter as he climbs onto the bed and sits right next to Jonghyun without a word.  
  
“I’m sure Minhyun’s not going to murder Seongwoo,” Jonghyun tells him reassuringly, even though he’s actually not sure himself. Call it wishful thinking.  
  
“I think he’s seriously considering it,” Guanlin tells him carefully, like he wants Jonghyun to know his opinion but doesn’t actually want to speak badly of Minhyun.  
  
“What did he do? Why did you spend the night here?” Seonho asks before he gasps dramatically, and clutches as his chest, “Did you cheat on Minhyun with Seongwoo? Is that why he’s so angry?”  
  
“Sound less happy about that,” Guanlin says what Jonghyun is thinking, complete with a little glare.  
  
“My time is now,” Seonho says triumphantly before he places his hands on his hips in a cliche superhero pose. Then he frowns, “No, Seongwoo is too pathetically heartbroken for an affair.” That really doesn’t make much sense but Jonghyun doesn’t question his logic because he doesn’t want to hear the explanation.  
  
“Oh, so you’re saying you think I would cheat on Minhyun?” Jonghyun asks playfully. Not exactly his choice of a topic for discussion but if it means Seonho is distracted from wondering about the real reason for the fight then Jonghyun will milk it for all it’s worth.  
  
“You have the look about you, like you’re the sweet boy at high school who writes poetry and gets the best grades but would actually cheat on your boyfriend with a girl just to be able to write angsty poetry about it,” Seonho tells him.  
  
Jonghyun blinks in confusion, Guanlin mirroring his action “Are you speaking from personal experience?” Guanlin asks hesitantly.  
  
“What? No, I’m just saying” Seonho shakes his head before his posture stoops, “But seriously are they okay? They’re not going to ruin the job are they?” He asks hesitantly, coming to sit on the bottom of the bed.  
  
“I’m not sure,” Jonghyun answers, not sure since he didn’t actually see their argument. He can only imagine how furious Minhyun is going to be though.  
  
“It was really bad,” Guanlin confesses, shuffling closer to Jonghyun so that their sides are touching, “Like I really think Minhyun might have hurt Seongwoo if they were left alone.”  
  
Jonghyun unwraps his blanket cocoon just a little so he can wrap it around Guanlin as well, “You didn’t leave them alone did you?”  
  
“No, Woojin was there,” Seonho says dismissively eyeing the two of them.  
  
That’s good, Woojin is probably the best option for breaking up a fight if one does actually occur and he knows more about what’s going on then anyone not directly involved.  
  
“That’s good,” Jonghyun sighs in relief.  
  
“You’re really not going to tell us what this is about?” Seonho asks with a pout that he probably thinks is cute (It works on Minhyun well enough but Jonghyun is stronger than that).  
  
“It’s, a personal matter,” Jonghyun says carefully. Technically that’s true but it’s a personal matter that’s going to effect the job. He wants to put off telling anyone else about it so he can figure out how best to deal with everything.  
  
“I don’t believe you,” Guanlin says quietly, leaning into Jonghyun’s side.  
  
“You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth,” Jonghyun says deciding it’s time to distract the chicks. He’s gotten all the information he can out of them, namely that at least Seongwoo kept his word this time.  
  
Seonho continues to pout, “Oh come here you big baby,” Jonghyun says in exasperated fondness, barely getting the words out before Seonho is wiggling his way in between the two of them.  
  
“Now, how about we order some room service and make it odd enough that the staff gossip about Seongwoo?” Jonghyun asks conspiratorially knowing food is a surefire way to distract Seonho (And that Guanlin respects him enough to just go with the flow).  
  
“Yes!” Seonho says excitedly, scrambling off to look for the room service menu, “We can order whatever we want? You’re paying.”  
  
“Seonho, you’re kind of loaded. Loaded enough to order whatever you want from room service normally,” Guanlin points out. As usual Seonho ignores him.  
  
“Yeah, sure order whatever you want,” Jonghyun tells him with a smile, taking the brief respite to just enjoy the enthusiasm the two of them bring.  
  
He has a feeling he’s going to need to take the opportunity to recharge because things are going to get difficult from here.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
After an hour or so, and watching in disgust as Seonho ate so much it probably weighed as much as the three of them combined, Jonghyun sends the chicks away.  
  
It’s under the guise of sending them off to work on the job but really Jonghyun is expecting Minhyun to burst in any moment.  
  
Whilst he waits he steals Seongwoo’s laptop to do some work, not at all surprised to find Seongwoo has left a tab open to Daniel’s Facebook page.  
  
As much as he understands where Seongwoo is coming from they really need to have a talk about stalking and acceptable boundaries at some point once this job is over (if neither of them are in jail or on the run).  
  
Soon enough, as he predicted Minhyun soon bursts through the door.  
  
“Did you know?” He demands, clearly still angry, “Did you know about Daniel?”  
  
Jonghyun could play obtuse but things with Minhyun feel slightly strained right now and Minhyun’s in no mood to take it, “Seongwoo told me last night.” He says, putting the laptop down and giving Minhyun his full attention.  
  
“Seongwoo told you? Just happened to offer the information?” Minhyun asks skeptically, arms crossed over his chest.  
  
“No,” Jonghyun admits, “Woojin saw him arguing with Daniel and came and told me straight away. I confirmed with Jinyoung and then confronted Seongwoo,” Jonghyun explains it as clinically as he can, making sure that Minhyun knows exactly who else knows.  
  
“And you didn’t tell me because?” Minhyun asks looking annoyed, seemingly taking it personally.  
  
“I wanted to give Seongwoo the chance to tell you,” Jonghyun explains, he owed Seongwoo that much at the end of the day.  
  
“Okay,” Minhyun says shortly, accepting his answer but not particularly happy with it.  
  
“I told him if he didn’t tell you today I’d tell you,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun because Minhyun needs to know that. Minhyun hums, but moves on, since it’s not what he really wants to talk about.  
  
“Seongwoo’s a fucking idiot,” Minhyun finally says what’s been on his mind this entire time.  
  
“He made a mistake,” Jonghyun says, edging his bets. Seongwoo isn’t an idiot is the thing, that makes this entire thing worse.  
  
“He is better than this,” Minhyun tells him, pacing in front of the couch he’s sitting on, “I know Seongwoo is better than this and he’s using this as an excuse and it’s not fucking good enough.”  
  
“Minhyun,” Jonghyun says, warningly. Minhyun has a right to be angry of course, but insulting Seongwoo is going to help no one.  
  
“You always do this you know,” Jonghyun honestly hadn’t expected Minhyun to round on him, pointing a finger and all, “ You cut Seongwoo more slack then he deserves. You forgive him for things that if anyone else did them you’d never work with again. It’s ridiculous.”  
  
Jonghyun bristles at that, Minhyun of all people should understand.  
  
“You know before I met Seongwoo he never had anyone in his corner his entire life, and even now even before Daniel left him no one is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. To think about the fact behind his self confident persona is a real person with real struggles who makes mistakes. So if maybe I cut him a little bit of slack every now and then it’s because everyone else in the fucking world is doing the exact opposite,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun words running together but careful not to raise his voice.  
  
Minhyun pauses in his pacing and looks at him, “Jonghyun…”  
  
“I’m not, accusing you,” Even though he kind of was, “I just really hate the way the world see Seongwoo because he’s worth so much more than the way everyone treats him,” Jonghyun explains, looking down. He’s not a robot and he’s not a clown, no matter how he acts.  
  
“I know. Jonghyun you know I care about Seongwoo,” Minhyun tells him. Jonghyun does know that, of course he knows that, “It doesn’t excuse what he did.”  
  
“I know it doesn’t. I’m was angry about it myself,” Jonghyun says, even though his anger has simmered down into something lighter. He’s not forgiven Seongwoo but he understands, “But if someone had just forced him to talk. If I’d sat him down months ago, before I went to jail, or even when he proposed this job and asked him about it we never would have been here.”  
  
“Kim Jonghyun this is not your fault,” Minhyun tells him, voice full of conviction as he sits down next to him, “Nothing about this is your fault.”  
  
Jonghyun disagrees, “If I’d done my job as a leader. As Seongwoo’s friend then we wouldn’t have ended up here.”  
  
“Seongwoo is the one that chose to be a selfish idiot not you,” Minhyun tells him. Of course Minhyun would see it that way.  
  
“You told me not to have blind faith in him,” Jonghyun reminds Minhyun, watching with a slight sense of satisfaction as the conflicting emotions pass across his face. If Jonghyun had to guess he would so Minhyun doesn’t know whether to agree that Jonghyun should have listened to him or keep insisting it’s not his fault.  
  
“That doesn’t make you responsible for his actions,” Minhyun finally says, “And maybe if you’d pushed Seongwoo harder we’d have found out about Daniel sooner but we’d still be in some shit, and it’s still not your fault.”  
  
It sounds to Jonghyun like Minhyun thinks it’s his fault but is trying to soften the blow. It’s a simple fact.  
  
“It’s was my job as leader to evaluate any risks to the job. To know about anything like this that could trip us up. Anyway weaknesses or conflicts of interest in the team,” Jonghyun argues. He should have done research, he should have done like what Minhyun suggested and tried to track Daniel down sooner. He should have taken Jisung’s call.  
  
There are so many moments he could have done something that would have changed the outcome. So many moments that Jonghyun ignored. Moments that he wasn’t smart enough or discerning enough to see.  
  
“It was my job as Seongwoo’s friend to know he was hurting,” What should concern him most of all is the job, he’s responsible for these eleven people. But part of him feels like he’s failed more as a friend by letting Seongwoo hurt all alone for so long.  
  
“I don’t think it’s your fault, but it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. We need to figure out how to fix it,” Minhyun says. Agreeing to disagree.  
  
Jonghyun takes the opportunity.  
  
 “I’ve contacted Kahi,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun more than happy to get down to business, to have someone to bounce ideas off, “If Daniel knows Seongwoo is here than we need to give him an alibi for when we hit the gallery.”  
  
“You want Seongwoo to use a crime as an alibi for a crime?” Minhyun asks him, eyebrows raised. Clearly for once he’s not following Jonghyun’s thoughts (it’s slightly disconcerting but understandable).  
  
“It’s not an alibi for the police, just for Daniel. If Seongwoo is very publicly somewhere else with one of Kahi’s girls then Daniel’s not going to think he’s involved and he’ll have an explanation for why Seongwoo is in Vegas,” Jonghyun explains, though half way through his explanation he can see that Minhyun catches on.  
  
“Okay, I see. Kahi’s girls don’t actually need to pull a job, they just need to make a public appearance with Seongwoo as one of their dates,” Minhyun says with a nod of his head, “It’s risky though, isn’t it. To assume…”  
  
“Daniel loves Seongwoo enough not to turn him for past crimes,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun. He doesn’t like banking on uncertainties of human behaviour, but of this he’s sure.  
  
“Are you sure? If he walked out like that then he can’t care about Seongwoo as much as we all thought,” Minhyun says. That answers Jonghyun’s question as too how much Seongwoo had told Minhyun as well.  
  
“If Daniel was going to turn him in he’d have done it when he left,” Jonghyun says. He doesn’t know how he’s so sure of this he just knows, knows based on watching Daniel and Seongwoo together for all those years. Knows from listening to how heartbroken Daniel had sounded in that voice message. Knows because Daniel had cared enough about Seongwoo to leave a voice message and let him know he was leaving and not dead.  
  
“Are you sure about that?” Minhyun asks. He’s doubting Jonghyun’s judgement, but Jonghyun feels he deserves that.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun says before he sighs, “But we’re probably going to have to…” he trails off not wanting to put the words out there just yet  
  
“That would be the best idea,” Minhyun agrees with a hum, back on the same page.  
  
“It feels wrong,” Jonghyun admits, he really hates to do this. Hates invading anyone’s privacy that way.  
  
“It does. But we need to know for sure,” Minhyun says. Sometimes arguing with Minhyun like this is like arguing with himself, with his better judgement. His pragmatic side.  
  
“Daniel doesn’t deserve it,” Jonghyun tells him.  
  
“He doesn’t. But if you want to continue with this job then we’re going to have to,” Minhyun says firmly. Jonghyun agrees, it’s either invading Daniel’s privacy or running the risk of one of their team going to jail. They deserve that about as much as Daniel deserves to be bugged.  
  
“Okay, we’ll get Daehwi to do it,” Jonghyun says chewing on his bottom lip. Jihoon is a possibility but Jonghyun dismisses that, he’d rather have Jihoon working with Sungwoon whilst Daehwi is sitting idle for now until Ahn asks for the next meeting with him.  
  
Minhyun nods in agreement, before silence falls. It’s comfortable as silence always in between them but something about it is on edge. Jonghyun knows that he needs to talk to Minhyun about everything that’s happened the past week. Not in relation to the job but in relation to them.  
  
Except he doesn’t have that luxury, not right now. He’s leader and that means the job and the team comes first. His personal life is a very distant last, at least for now. Minhyun knows that.  
  
Still he doesn’t want things to be too fraught so he grabs Minhyun’s hand. Minhyun looks at him and Jonghyun can see in his face that he understands and for that he’s so thankful. He doesn’t deserve Minhyun.  
  
“So,” Jonghyun asks quietly now he feels more at peace, “What do we tell the others?”  
  
Minhyun hums, “They probably deserver to know, but-”  
  
“But if we tell them then some of them, especially the members of the team that don’t really know Seongwoo, are going to lose trust in him.” Jonghyun finishes for him. Losing trust in any member of the team could cause this whole job to fall around their ears. Then again so could Daniel’s mere existence as a variable.  
  
It’s a rock and a hard place.  
  
Seongwoo has really cocked this whole thing up.  
  
“I think, we tell Sungwoon and Jaehwan,” Minhyun says like he’s seriously considering it, “Sungwoon especially wouldn’t be too pleased at being kept out of the loop.”  
  
Jonghyun nods. That makes sense, and another level head to keep an eye on Seongwoo will always be useful, “Woojin and Jinyoung already know something so we should probably make sure they’ve got enough details they don’t draw wild conclusions,” Jonghyun says.  
  
“But the chicks, Daehwi and Jihoon probably don’t need to know,” Minhyun finishes for him.  
  
“It probably won’t effect their parts of the job anyway,” Jonghyun says, Daehwi needs to know he’s bugging someone of course but he doesn’t need to know who or the exact details.  
  
And of course he’s considered the possibility that Jihoon has already run into Daniel in the gallery but he thinks Jihoon would have told him if he had, especially after the incident they had that evening when they were observing Ahn.  
  
“They might wonder why Seongwoo isn’t involved in the art job anymore,” Minhyun points out. Every solution they come up with to solve a problem just raises more problems. It feels never-ending.  
  
Jonghyun groans, dropping his head into his hands, “I don’t know what to do Minhyun,” He admits fighting the urge to tear his hair out - a compulsion he’d managed to rid himself of a long time ago, “No matter how I look at it, no matter how many pieces I shift or moves I plan there is something that’s too much of a liability to ignore.”  
  
Minhyun wraps an arm around his shoulder, an achingly familiar gesture that makes him feel so much better than it has any right too, “Jonghyun you can’t control everyone. You know that.”  
  
“I just want to protect them,” Jonghyun admits letting Minhyun wrap him in a hug.  
  
“I know and you’re doing so much better than anyone else could. But everyone knew this job had bigger risks than most. They knew and they accepted those risks when they accepted the job” Minhyun reminds him. He’s right of course, it just so happens the risks are even bigger than they ever could have predicted.  
  
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Jonghyun admits, as painful as it is to say. He hates being out of control, hates it more than anything on this planet.  
  
“You’re doing really well, considering the circumstances,” Minhyun reassures him, “We will pull this off, get the biggest payday of our careers, and then kick Seongwoo’s ass.”  
  
Jonghyun wishes he shared the confidence.  
  
“You know, I understand where he’s coming from,” Jonghyun says, lifting his head from his hands so he can look at Minhyun.  
  
“You would do this if you were in his position?” Minhyun asks Jonghyun. They both know that’s not what he means, not in the slightest.  
  
“Well no, but I don’t have abandonment issues quite as big as Seongwoo,” Jonghyun points out. Minhyun raises a skeptical eyebrow but doesn’t challenge it.  
  
Jonghyun’s glad because he wouldn’t know exactly how to explain it. How to explain that it’s not the same. That the fact so many people rely on and respect him in this line of work, criminal or not, makes all the difference. Jonghyun is the beloved leader, a pressure that he feels through every fibre of his being. It’s a crushing weight but one that comes with respect.  
  
Seongwoo is respected for his skills but not much else, written off as the grifter that no one takes seriously because he doesn’t take himself seriously. People like Seongwoo but it’s not the same. Jonghyun has been thinking about this since he talked with Seongwoo last night.  
  
About how much of a burden it must feel to think that people only like you for a mask you wear. That no one takes you seriously.  
  
It makes Jonghyun ache with sympathy.  
  
“Or you’re better at dealing you your issues,” Minhyun nudges Jonghyun, reminding him that he zoned out in the middle of a conversation  
  
“I’m terrible at dealing with my issues,” Jonghyun dismisses. When it comes to helping other people with their issues and with job issues he’s fine, but when it’s personal he’s a mess. It’s why Minhyun is a godsend for putting up with him, “And if you just walked out of my life with no explanation I don’t know I’d react any better than Seongwoo did.”  
  
“You wouldn’t put everyone else at risk,” Minhyun tells him fiercely.  
  
“If Seongwoo hadn’t done this he’d have self destructed,” Jonghyun confesses to Minhyun in a whisper, “And that scares me,” it’s probably why he’s being so forgiving of Seongwoo. Not forgiving but, understanding. He’s not sure he’ll ever forgive Seongwoo.  
  
“Jonghyun, he’s okay,” Minhyun tells him, knowing exactly the dark place that his mind has gone.  
  
“Minhyun I can’t lose Seongwoo, I can’t,” Jonghyun tells him, desperate for Minhyun to understand, “And I can’t lose you.”  
  
“Hey, you’re not going to lose me,” Minhyun says with such conviction Jonghyun believes him, “Not unless you do something stupid like end up in jail again.”  
  
It’s a joke, but Jonghyun still feels his heart drop.  
  
“You know, I love you right?” Jonghyun asks Minhyun. Of course he knows but he needs to hear it.  
  
“Yeah, and I love you. Nothing’s going to change that,” Minhyun tells him. They’re words Jonghyun has heard a thousand times before but they settle him. They make him feel like he can do this.  
  
There’s so much he needs to talk about with Minhyun, but that will come later. Once the job is dealt with. It’s not because the job is more important, but because his relationship is more secure.  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun says nodding his head in understand, “We need to get to work then. And you need to make sure you don’t murder Seongwoo.”  
  
“It’ll be hard,” Minhyun tells him in a considering voice. Jonghyun can tell that Minhyun is still ridiculously angry, that his relationship with Seongwoo is going to be strained. The others are surely going to notice it, but hopefully they write it off as a personal argument. Hopefully their relationship isn’t damaged beyond repair.  
  
Jonghyun couldn’t take it if is two favourite people were permanently at odds.  
  
“Try. For me,” Jonghyun says, putting on the cutest face he can, “Please?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Minhyun says with the cheeky grin that Jonghyun knows so well, “Maybe there’s something you can do to convince me?”  
  
Of course that’s the moment that his phone chooses to ring. Minhyun laughs, shaking his head, “Who is it?”  
  
Jonghyun looks at the phone with great reluctance, wanting just five minutes with Minhyun before he goes back to trying to fix the chaos of his own creation, “Kahi.”  
  
“Well, duty calls,” Minhyun says waving for him to answer the phone as he gets to his feet.  
  
Jonghyun goes to do so but before he picks up he grabs Minhyun’s wrist, “Stay? Please.”  
  
He’s not sure why he wants Minhyun to stay other than the fact it feels important. It feels like they need a moment for them. Not for them to discuss the job or Seongwoo or their issues. Just a moment alone to be themselves.  
  
He shouldn’t have worried, Minhyun smiles at him. That breathtakingly sincere but soft smile, “Always.”  
  
And for the first time in 24 hours, Jonghyun breathes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 5am and my is picking me up at 10 to go out for my birthday will I ever make good decisions when it comes to writing? Seems unlikely.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so late guys (like a whole week late :s). Work was busy as heck last week and I was pretty unwell all of this week (I wrote a large chunk of this off work in the few bits of time I felt Not Terrible)
> 
> Anyway - I thought Jihoon’s POV was hard but honestly Sungwoon’s was even harder yikes this chapter caused me more frustration than was healthy (I think this might be the 2nd last of the alternate POV chapters though thankfully? Don’t quote me on that though tbh because this chapter wasn’t even supposed to exist before I sat down and plotted out the next 6 chapters on the weekend). 
> 
> This runs concurrently with the last three chapters and also with the next chapter.

The night before Sungwoon was due to leave Japan to come and work with Jonghyun, Taehyun pulls him aside.  
  
That’s not unusual. For all Taehyun’s bluster sometimes he just needs a break from the teams he pulls together - especially with the way they can get after a job goes right.  
  
What is unusual is the way he frowns at Sungwoon and asks, “Are you sure about this job?”  
  
“It went off without a hitch,” Sungwoon answers carefully, “Unless we count that bit with the tiara and the coffee mug.”  
  
It’s worth it just for the look of betrayal that flashes across Taehyun’s face, “we agreed not to mention that ever again.”  
  
“It was the only hitch in the job?” Sungwoon defends even though he’d only said it to get a rise out a Taehyun.  
  
“Not this job, your next job. With Jonghyun,” Taehyun frowns. He’s always kind of weird about Sungwoon working other jobs so this doesn’t really faze him.  
  
“I’ve never had a problem with a job organised by Jonghyun in the past,” Sungwoon tells him. Jobs with Jonghyun tend to go smoother than those by Taehyun. Though they’re both something of control freaks Jonghyun’s tendency to be a control freak from the background instead of playing a central role like Taehyun likes to means he has more of a chance to keep an eye on all the pieces of a plan and mitigate any risks before they arise.  
  
Sungwoon will never in a million years tell Taehyun this because he values their friendship too much for that. Besides, jobs with Jonghyun tend to be more boring because he has everything constantly under control and takes far fewer risks than Taehyun.  
  
Taehyun looks over his shoulder to check for eavesdroppers, face more unusually serious than it is once a job has finished, “I don’t know the details of your job or who is involved,” he looks as annoyed as he always does at this.  
  
There is an unspoken rule though amongst their circle of acquaintances that you don’t talk about job details with anyone not involved in the job. No matter how close you are. Taehyun still isn’t quite proficient at hiding how much his nosy ass doesn’t like this rule even if he does follow it grudgingly.  
  
“As it should be,” Sungwoon prompts him when it becomes clear Taehyun is waiting for some kind of response.  
  
“Sanggyun heard from a friend of his that Bae Jinyoung is apparently a bit over his head in some job he’s working right now and putting out feelers for assistance,” Taehyun says quietly.  
  
“You didn’t tell him anything about the job did you?” Sungwoon asks Taehyun. Not that he’d mean to but Taehyun can get carried away sometimes.  
  
“No,” Taehyun says so adamantly that Sungwoon has to believe him, “Sanggyun just likes to keep up on that kind of gossip.” Sungwoon knows that’s not entirely true.  
  
“What makes you think Jinyoung is working Jonghyun’s job?” Sungwoon asks. He is - Sungwoon has been communicating with him on and off for a couple of days trying to get the specs for a camera right.  
  
“Kenta’s with us and the law caught up with Hyeongseob and Taemin. There’s no one else Jonghyun would use,” Taehyun tells him certainly. He’s not wrong in theory but Jonghyun is already using two untested elements in this jobs.  
  
Sungwoon doesn’t give him the satisfaction of confirming it.  
  
Taehyun knows his so well he probably doesn’t have to say anything.  
  
“I’m just saying, are you really sure?” Taehyun asks tapping his heel on the floor with a restless energy, “This job sounds out of control. Risky.”  
  
That’s a lie - Jonghyun’s never worked a risky job a day in his life.  
  
“Yes, I’m sure” Sungwoon replies. Even if he wasn’t sure he’s already started work, he made a commitment and he would love to be able to get his hands on such an extensive collection of Hokusai prints.  
  
Annoying Taehyun is always a fun bonus.  
  
Taehyun frowns, “Why are you always so stubborn. You can pull out.”  
  
Sungwoon laughs, “Have you ever pulled out of an in progress job before?” he asks. He knows the answer. Taehyun does too by the frown on his face. “But hey I promise I’ll buy you something nice with my millions in earnings.”  
  
Taehyun’s frown quickly morphs into a comical look of betrayal, “Hey Ha Sungwoon I am older than you. Respect your elders.”  
  
“Respect the elderly,” Sungwoon says through his laughter, just for the way Taehyun reacts. Which is funny, until Taehyun lunges for him and Sungwoon has to duck out his way, banging his leg on a table in the process.  
  
A few seconds later Longguo sticks his head into the room.  
  
“What’s happening?” Kenta shrieks from somewhere else in the apartment.  
  
“The grandparents are just trying to kill each other, nothing unusual,” Longguo calls back, eyes twinkling.  
  
In Taehyun’s mind grandparent must trump elderly because he redirects his outrage from Sungwoon onto Longguo who has the sense to leave the room quickly, Taehyun following behind him.  
  
The conversation is forgotten (they agree to move on from it without words) and Taehyun doesn’t bring it up again.  
  


* * *

  
  
It takes less than 24 hours for Sungwoon to realise that Taehyun might have been on to something (he’ll never give Taehyun the satisfaction of telling him that).  
  
Firstly there’s the whole incident with Jaehwan being unable to track Seongwoo down and Jonghyun’s confession about Seongwoo’s cloudy motives (Jonghyun is too loyal to Seongwoo to be entirely honest - Sungwoon will need to ask Minhyun or Jaehwan about the state of play).  
  
Then there’s the way Woojin comes storming into the house like a bat out of hell, making dramatic claims about Seongwoo and being dragged away by Jonghyun before he can voice any concrete accusations.  
  
The way Jonghyun rushes out of the house with Woojin in tow soon after is all the proof that Sungwoon needs. Proof that the alleged worries about Seongwoo’s dodgy (Daniel) motives were founded.  
  
How after rushing from the house without even a word Jonghyun goes missing for the rest of the day, joining Seongwoo in being off the radar.  
  
Sungwoon doesn’t see either of them until the next morning.  
  
He’s sitting with Jihoon in the living room again. The kid seems to have unlocked a keen interest in the work Sungwoon does - or if he keeps his ego in check more broadly an interest in mokuhanga - and is more than willing to chat Sungwoon’s ear off about it.  
  
With the exception of Daehwi - who he hasn’t met - Jihoon is the member of this team that Sungwoon is least familiar with. He’s also the member of the team Sungwoon has has had most contact with outside of Jonghyun.  
  
What he’s learned from those video calls and the last twelve hours is that Jihoon likes to make himself seem as nonthreatening as possible, peeling that back to reveal a silly side as he gets comfortable. Sungwoon gets the feeling that underneath that second layer there’s a third one, a steely determination and a thirst to be taken seriously.  
  
Sungwoon has no proof of this yet he’s certain. Jihoon reminds Sungwoon strongly of someone.  
  
Minhyun is somewhere deep within the house and the chicks are playing pool in the games room, Jaehwan is asleep and no one else is present as far as Sungwoon is aware.  Jihoon is excitedly reciting to Sungwoon everything that he’s learned from his gallery source (whoever he is is surprisingly knowledgable).  
  
“You have a lot of respect for this guy,” Sungwoon cuts him off with a smile.  
  
Jihoon huffs, crossing his arms over his chest theatrically. Sungwoon has hit a nerve, “Not you too!”  
  
“Me too what?” Sungwoon asks confused but amused.  
  
“Half this team seem to think I’m in love with him. I’m not, if you’re wondering,” Jihoon says. Sungwoon is more than familiar with watching people make fake declarations about lack of feelings. Jihoon is not.  
  
“I don’t think you’re in love with him, or like him,” Sungwoon says simply, “I think you admire his passion.”  
  
Jihoon smiles brightly at Sungwoon. Bright but genuine unlike other smiles Sungwoon has seen him flash.  
  
“He’s so passionate! And knowledgeable! And good at inspiring interest in people he knows so much? I kind of feel bad that we’re stealing them from under his nose, we’re like practically stealing his job,” Jihoon says, hands waving as he talks.  
  
“If all goes well he won’t know we stole his job,” Sungwoon points out.  
  
Jihoon frowns, “He knows so many little details of these paintings that I think he’ll notice.”  
  
Sungwoon’s ego doesn’t smart because Jihoon clearly has a bit of hero worship going on here.  
  
“Firstly you tell me he’s the most knowledgable person about them you know, then you tell me you think he’s better at his job than I am at mine,” Sungwoon teases Jihoon as gently as he can, “Why don’t you just go pull this job off with him instead.”  
  
“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Jihoon says wide eyed and earnest. Sungwoon can’t tell if he’s genuine or faking it.  
  
Sungwoon tries not to laugh, “How did you mean it?”  
  
“Just, I don’t know. It’s interesting people can be so passionate about something and not have the itch to steal it and make it theirs,” Jihoon jokes, not really answering the question.  
  
Sungwoon would press him. Then the yelling starts.  
  
It’s Minhyun yelling, threats that bear not repeating, at who Sungwoon can only assume is Seongwoo. The chicks scuttle out not soon after the threats turn violent, and Jaehwan can’t be sleeping through the noise.  
  
Sungwoon gets the feeling that this should be a private argument. He looks at Jihoon, “How about we use this excellent opportunity that Minhyun has presented to go to the gallery. You can show me exactly how much you’ve absorbed.”  
  
Jihoon nods, tight lipped, “We should stop by and check on Jinyoung first,” He suggests as he gets up and gathers his stuff faster than Sungwoon thought possible.  
  
Sensing Jihoon’s clear but unexplained urgency Sungwoon gathers his things equally speedily and then they’re off.  
  
He imagines the ‘masterminds’ of this operation are too busy with their internal problems to notice they’ve gone.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Sungwoon and Jihoon let themselves into the suite that Jinyoung has apparently set up shop in with the keycard Jihoon has been spinning in his fingers the entire elevator ride up (“Guanlin and Seonho just pretended to lose their keycards a lot so we’ve practically all got one at this point” Jihoon explains to Sungwoon at his questioning look). They find Jinyoung hunched forward peering at his computer screen. A fairly standard sight. He doesn’t hear them approach either - another common occurrence.  
  
What is not standard is the fact Jinyoung startles when he finally notices them. Startles and then turns his screen off. It had looked to Sungwoon like all he was doing was reviewing security footage of the hotel - so why he’d felt the need to hide it is concerning.  
  
“What are you doing weirdo?” Jihoon asks less concerned by Jinyoung’s odd behaviour that Sungwoon is.  
  
“Ahh, nothing, you just surprised me,” Jinyoung rubs at the back of his neck, eyes fixed on the now blank computer screen.  
  
“Really? Are you sure we didn’t catch you stalking Seongwoo with the cameras?” Jihoon asks. Sungwoon thinks that’s ridiculous.  
  
Jinyoung blushes; maybe not so ridiculous, “I wasn’t,” he mutters. It’s utterly unbelievable.  
  
“You’ve got a crush on him,” Jihoon coos, leaning over Jinyoung’s shoulder to flick the screen back on.  
  
Jinyoung voices a half hearted protest - at the screen being turned on or the accusation or maybe both it’s hard to tell.  
  
The footage on the screen is nothing remarkable, Seongwoo entering a public bathroom. Sungwoon knows there has to be more to it than that, there’s a reason Jinyoung was looking at it. Why he startled.  
  
Sungwoon is sure it must have something to do with the odd goings on of the last 12 hours - Seongwoo’s disappearance with Jonghyun and then his argument with Minhyun.  
  
He doesn’t say anything. If Jinyoung knows anything (surely he does) Jonghyun will have told him not to tell the rest of the team. Sungwoon doesn’t want to conflict him.  
  
“Did you come here for a reason?” Jinyoung asks loudly, turning the screen off again but turning to face them this time.  
  
Jihoon goes oddly quiet, chewing on his lip in concentration so Sungwoon takes the lead.  
  
“I’m your hyung and instead of greeting me for the first time in a long time you give me this disrespect,” Sungwoon reminds Jinyoung raising an eyebrow.  
  
Jinyoung bows his head, immediately repentive, “Sorry. How are you?”  
  
“I’m well thank you Jinyoung,” Sungwoon fights to keep a straight face, “You clearly can’t say the same, when was the last time you slept?”  
  
“Thursday?” Jinyoung says. He doesn’t sound sure.  
  
“It’s Saturday,” Jihoon points out, words muffled by the fact he’s still biting his lip.  
  
“It’s fine,” Jinyoung dismisses Jihoon. It’s not the end of the conversation, Sungwoon isn’t going to let it drop, but he is going to get what he needs from Jinyoung before pressing it further.  
  
“It’s not fine,” Sungwoon tells him, just so Jinyoung doesn’t think he agrees, “But we’re not here to discuss your sleeping habits.”  
  
“You want the camera?” Jinyoung declares with a nod, rummaging around on his desk looking for it.  
  
“Yes. How’s the second one coming?” Sungwoon asks watching Jinyoung’s search get more frantic. He should really keep his work spaces tidier - he’s starting to resemble Jaehwan’s habits.  
  
“It’s harder, obviously because Jonghyun is asking the near impossible but it’s coming along,” Jinyoung explains confident, “If you could give me a more specific colour profile as well that’ll be good.”  
  
“I’ll let you know when I’ve had a play,” Sungwoon reassures him.  
  
Jinyoung cries out triumphantly, “Found it,” He says waving a small container around in his hands.  
  
“Those are iPhone headphones,” Jihoon points out skeptically.  
  
“They’re disguised,” Jinyoung waves him away as he hands the container to Sungwoon, “They’re the little black bits in the headphone spot, the right one is for the painting frame, the left one for the wall. You should just need to peel them off and press them into place and they’ll be hard to spot - try not to put them at eye level though just to be sure.” Jinyoung instructs.  
  
Standard fare really. Sungwoon nods as he takes the headphones, “Okay, we’re going to do this now. Whilst you get some sleep,” he says pointedly.  
  
“I’m fine,” Jinyoung waves away.  
  
“I’m sure you still remember that lecture that Euiwoong gave you about the dangers of sleep deprivation?” Sungwoon asks. It made an impression of everyone that was there, Sungwoon is sure he can recite at least half of it word for word even three years later.  
  
“I’m not sleep deprived, just a little sleepy,” Jinyoung argues; he’s not convincing, “Besides I’ve got this work I need to finish for Jonghyun tonight.”  
  
“Jonghyun can wait,” Sungwoon instructs.  
  
“No, I don’t want to let him down,” Jinyoung shakes his head. Admirable but stupid.  
  
“Bae Jinyoung, I don’t care what Jonghyun said, go and sleep,” Sungwoon tells him being as commanding as he possibly can. Jonghyun would never ask any of the team to put their health on the line for these jobs - especially in such a stupid and easily avoidable way.  
  
Jinyoung looks for a brief instant like he’s going to complain before he sighs, “If Jonghyun gets mad can I blame you?”  
  
“I’ll text Jonghyun right now,” Sungwoon says getting his phone out his pocket, “And tell him that you’re having the afternoon off. No arguments.”  
  
Jinyoung looks like he wants to cry. It could be because it’s thankful or it could be because he’s getting separation anxiety at the thought of being away from his computer for a few hours.  
  
“Go,” Sungwoon tells him to give him that extra push. He can see in the mirror over the decorative table that Jihoon is standing over his shoulder nodding his head in stern (and mocking) agreement.  
  
“Now,” Sungwoon says to Jihoon once Jinyoung is out of sight. He’s determined to make sure the kids on this team are functioning properly. Minhyun and Jonghyun are spread thin so someone has to do it, “How about we go to the gallery and you can tell me every thing you’ve learned about these paintings and then steal Woojin away from the timeless prison of the casino and feed him.”  
  
Jihoon smiles, “That sounds like a plan.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Their excursion to the gallery proves fruitful. Much to Jihoon’s obvious relief the boy who is his contact is not working (Sungwoon doesn’t know if Jihoon is more afraid of Sungwoon seeing the boy or vice versa), they get both cameras places without any fuss and Sungwoon is able to get everything he needs.  
  
Jihoon had been a valuable source and between the initial grainy pictures and their discussions last night, there are really only a few changes that Sungwoon notes to be made to his sketches. He also learns a great deal about the specific colours of the prints in Ahn’s possession - the detail that is the most important because it’s the most conspicuous (and hardest to measure or fake without seeing the prints in person ).  
  
Once Sungwoon is convinced they have all the information they need they part ways - Jihoon stays back at the hotel to work on some part of the job with the chicks and Sungwoon heads back to the house to make his notes and mix some inks whilst the details are still fresh in his mind.  
   
The car that Jonghyun had picked Sungwoon up from the airport in yesterday is parked outside the house so he can only assume he’s finally returned from wherever he’s been hiding out the last day.  
  
Sungwoon honestly has no clue what he’s expecting when he gets in, but it’s not Seongwoo opening the front door for him.  
  
“You’re up to something,” Sungwoon states, suspicious of Seongwoo’s motives.  
  
“It’s good to see you too Sungwoon, it’s been so long,” Seongwoo tells him with a smug quirk of the lips. There’s something not right about it. A general air of defeat that he’s wearing like a heavy cloak.  
  
It doesn’t suit Seongwoo well at all.  
  
“Not long enough,” Sungwoon retorts. It’s a joke but it’s not since it’s not hard to see Seongwoo is the source of these unexpected issues (Sungwoon doesn’t even know what the issues are yet) that keep cropping up.  
  
Seongwoo smiles sadly, “Yeah. Jonghyun is in the study.”  
  
Sungwoon feels sympathy for Seongwoo he does, so he grabs his hand, “We’ll catch up this evening okay.”  
  
“Okay,” Seongwoo nods, no quick retort or sarcastic comeback worrying Sungwoon more than the posture.  
  
He doesn’t dwell on it, as long as Seongwoo is doing his job it’s not his problem, so he goes to find Jonghyun and give him a report on his activities of the day (And perhaps chastise him about how little sleep this entire team is getting).  
  
Jonghyun isn’t alone in the study. He’s sitting on the couch next to a young kid that Sungwoon hasn’t seen before (He can only assume it’s Daehwi). Minhyun is also there, leaning against one of the desks in the room offering Jonghyun his silent support but not interfering; his usual position.  
  
Sungwoon goes to stand next to Minhyun, “It is Daehwi,” Minhyun says in a low voice, confirming his thoughts (he’s won’t even pretend to be surprised that  Minhyun knew - he always does).  
  
“I don’t know,” Daehwi is saying to Jonghyun, looking hesitant at whatever he’s being asked.  
  
“I don’t like it either, but it’s something we need to do. For the security of the job,” Jonghyun tells Daehwi, pulling out that whole pleading/thankful/imploring puppy dog face thing that’s he’s got down to an art form. Or a weapon.  
  
Daehwi is merely human, and not as exposed to the look as the rest of them, so he’s obviously swayed, “I mean I know what we’re doing is illegal but a private home feels like crossing a line,” Daehwi says, playing with the sleeves of his t-shirt.  
  
“I know Daehwi but it’s really important for the job, if we don’t do this we might have to pull the entire job,” Jonghyun says imploring.  
  
That sets off alarm bells for Sungwoon. He looks at Minhyun out of the side of his eye. Minhyun is pointedly ignoring him.  
  
“What if I’m caught? Even if you can get me out of the charges I’m going to be dropped from my real job if I’m caught breaking into someone’s house with bugs on my person,” Daehwi says looking so entirely nervous.  
  
“You won’t be caught. I promise we’ll only send you in when we’re sure the occupants are out,” Jonghyun tells Daehwi, reaching out to grab his hands and still his fiddling.  
  
“We won’t send you in alone,” Minhyun speaks up, starting Daehwi if the way he whips his head around to look at Minhyun is any indication. His eyes widen when he takes in Sungwoon standing next to him.  
  
“Daehwi that’s Sungwoon, Sungwoon Daehwi,” Jonghyun introduces them in a rush. Sungwoon waves with a smile to be welcoming but recognising now is not the time for pleasantries. Daehwi waves back.  
  
“If you don’t want to do it we’ll send someone else. Jihoon maybe,” Jonghyun says looking like he’s thinking about it. Sungwoon knows he’ll already have a handful of contingencies.  
  
“Maybe Jinyoung would be able to hack his television or something? It might take awhile but I hear that’s a thing people can do now,” Sungwoon offers as helpfully as he can. Everyone on the team knows how overworked Jinyoung is so he’s playing on Daehwi’s sympathy.  
  
Sungwoon doesn’t know who they want to bug or why but he does know that this is important. Jonghyun and Minhyun takes privacy and minimising collateral damage very seriously - they wouldn’t be doing this if there was any other option.  
  
Daehwi takes a deep breath before straightening “I guess, if you guys can promise no one will be home and walk me through every step I can do it.”  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun claps his hands in delight which makes Daehwi smile (Jonghyun is dangerous - he knows how much loyalty he inspires in people).  
  
They launch into details of whoever they’re bugging (and Jonghyun still hasn’t told Sungwoon - or Daehwi form what he can hear - who their target is).  
  
“You better have a really good reason for all of this,” Sungwoon says to Minhyun quietly, not wanting Daehwi to overhear and worry.  
  
“We’ll tell you tonight, once Jaehwan gets back,” Minhyun mutters to him under his breath.  
  
“You better,” Sungwoon tells him warningly. He’s not above walking off this job if he thinks they’re keeping something important from him. He’s not opposed to risks so much as leaders who think they’re protecting their team by keeping them in the dark. There’s nothing he hates more.  
  
“We will,” Minhyun says looking so serious that Sungwoon believes him, “Trust me, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”  
  
Taehyun was definitely right.  
  


* * *

  
  
Minki [ 00:59]  
Don’t you dare even think about stealing my protege  
I mean it  
  
  


  
Sungwoon [ 1:23]  
I don’t think it’s me you have to worry about  
-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hoya-biased emo ass listened to Sweetune era Infinite songs writing this entire chapter because the chapter itself wasn’t enough Suffering. Apparently.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picks up right where the last Jonghyun chapter ended.

“Kim Jonghyun,” Kahi says in lieu of an actual greeting as soon as Jonghyun picks up the phone, “What sort of mess have you gotten yourself into this time?”  
  
“What makes you think I’m in a mess?” Jonghyun asks. His words are undermined by the way Minhyun, who is currently lying with his head in his lap, snorts.  
  
“Well this really interesting email I just received for one thing,” Kahi tells him. He’ll give her that one he supposes.  
  
“Perhaps we might need some assistance for this job we’re pulling in Vegas,”Jonghyun concedes, covering Minhyun’s mouth with his hand to prevent any further unnecessary input from him.  
  
He’s not sure why he asked him to stay if he’s going to be this unhelpful.  
  
“Ahh the Ahn job,” Kahi says sounding smug that she knows before he’s told her, “Boa told me about it.”  
  
Jonghyun expected as much.  
  
“Did she now?” Jonghyun asks her, fishing for more information.  
  
“Yep,” Kahi says before she sighs, “And I’m going to bet that Seongwoo has thrown a little spanner in your works.”  
  
Of course Boa told Kahi everything. Jonghyun should count that as a good thing he supposes, it’s easier to explain with Kahi knowing the majority of the details after all (he just really wished Boa stuck to the ‘Don’t share details of the job with people not on the job’ rule she was so adamant the rest of them followed).  
  
“Potentially,” Jonghyun replies carefully, trying not to flinch at the way Minhyun bites his fingers, having finally gotten fed up with the hand on his mouth.  
  
“I always told you that you could never trust the pretty ones Jonghyun,” she tells him with a disapproving click of her tongue.  
  
“All your girls are pretty,” Jonghyun points out, that’s kind of Kahi’s thing after all.  
  
“Yes, and none of them are to be trusted are they?” She asks him with that laugh of hers that is slightly unsettling. Honestly out of all the contacts Jonghyun has that he trusts, Kahi is the one that reminds him most of the criminal mastermind cliche.  
  
“Is that your way of saying you won’t help me?” Jonghyun asks her, causing Minhyun to sit up slightly and look at him in concern.  
  
Jonghyun waves him away; the fact Kahi had called him back so quickly meant she was probably willing listen at the very least.  
  
“I never said that,” she tells him straight away. She’s at least interested, “I want to hear your offer first.”  
  
“I need to give Seongwoo an alibi for when we pull this job off,” Jonghyun tells her, measuring his words so that he gives her enough to pique her interest but not enough that he shows his hand, “A big, public alibi.”  
  
“You have a place in mind?” Kahi asks him, clearly curious.  
  
“Two weeks from now, on Sunday, there’s this big club opening here in Vegas,” Jonghyun tells her. She’ll know what to do with that information.  
  
“Who runs it?” She asks him, carefully.  
  
“Han Sungsoo,” Jonghyun answers, equally as carefully.  
  
“What’s the take?”  
  
“At least twelve,” Jonghyun tells her, ignoring the way Minhyun is trying to get his ear close enough to the phone to hear Kahi’s side of the conversation.  
  
He’d put it on speakerphone but she would just hang up, he knows from experience.  
  
There’s a few seconds of silence before she says, “I know the girl for you. Kim Doyeon, she’s in LA right now but she’ll be free to get to you in ten days, is that enough time?”  
  
“More than enough,” Jonghyun tells her. It’s a simple play, one they could pull off with less than a days notice, just a distraction.  
  
“Doyeon should be enough to get you in,” Kahi tells them which is helpful, though with Seongwoo’s face that part is never much of a problem.  
  
“And she’s alright with this kind of job?” Jonghyun asks.  
  
“Seongwoo knows it’s fake and has that face, it’ll be the easiest one of these jobs she’s ever pulled,” Kahi tells him dismissively.  
  
“Good,” Jonghyun says for lack of anything else to say.  
  
“I’m sending someone else with her,” Kahi reminds him.  
  
“I know,” Jonghyun says. Kahi always sends her girls in at least twos, generally more. He doesn’t blame her for the precaution.  
  
“Well, I’ll have Doyeon get in touch,” Kahi tells him, ready to call off now that the plans been decided on, “Splitting?”  
  
“You can have everything from this job,” Jonghyun tells her. They don’t need the money, they just need the distraction, and they can only benefit from making this as enticing to Kahi as possible.  
  
“I look forward to doing business with you Kim Jonghyun,” She says before hanging up on him.  
  
Jonghyun laughs in disbelief, putting his phone back down on the coffee table.  
  
“Well, she’s as charming as ever to deal with,” Minhyun says with a laugh, laying back down in his lap.  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says, even though Kahi isn’t that bad once you get to know her.  
  
Minhyun hums, closing his eyes.  
  
“Hey, no sleeping, we have work to do!” Jonghyun protests, poking Minhyun in the forehead.  
  
“Are you sure?” Minhyun asks, not opening his eyes.  
  
“I’m sure,” Jonghyun says even though he could do with a really, really long nap right now.  
  
Minhyun hums again but doesn’t say anything else. Not at least until he shrieks when Jonghyun digs his fingers into his ribs, falling off of the couch and onto the floor.  
  
The sight is almost as good as a nap Jonghyun decides, especially when Minhyun drags him down to join him with a laugh.  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Telling Sungwoon and Jaehwan about the whole Daniel situation goes better than Jonghyun expected.  
  
“Well,” Jaehwan says slowly as the four of them sit around in the dingy motel room that he’s made his home, “I can’t say this surprises me. At all.”  
  
“Not at all?” Minhyun asks with a raised eyebrow, mostly teasing.  
  
“I mean, I didn’t know anything if that’s what you’re implying,” Jaehwan says, flailing around just a little, “I’m just. Knowing how Seongwoo has been lately it really doesn’t surprise me.”  
  
“You’re right,” Jonghyun says, still feeling a little bit stupid for how blind he’d been. Jaehwan and Minhyun had been right and he’d brushed them off.  
  
“Well, I’m not glad I’m right if that helps,” Jaehwan says pulling himself up haughtily, “But since I usually am right, it’s a burden I bear.”  
  
Minhyun glares at him hard enough to make Jaehwan cower much to Sungwoon’s amusement.  
  
“Well,” Sungwoon says looking contemplative, “Exactly how bad is it? Is it going to derail the job?”  
  
“We don’t think so,” Minhyun says looking at Jonghyun. He nods, “Daniel doesn’t know any of the other members of the team and he doesn’t know me and Jonghyun are here; he thinks we’re in London,”  
  
Jonghyun had told Minhyun about the calls from Jisung eventually, and though Minhyun hadn’t exactly been pleased about it he’d accepted it.  
  
Or not wanted to start an argument when things we’re already so testy; Jonghyun wasn’t quite sure.  
  
“So Seongwoo is the problem,” Jaehwan says dramatically, “If only someone had predicted this.”  
  
Isn’t that the story of Jonghyun’s life at this point.  
  
“At least Seongwoo wasn’t actually part of the plan for the art gallery,” Sungwoon says reasonably, always the voice of reason “So it could be worse.”  
  
“I called Kahi,” Jonghyun tells the two of them, laughing at the face Jaehwan pulls at that (Kahi still intimidates him after all this time), “She’s going to help us provide an alibi for Seongwoo,”  
  
“Why does Seongwoo need an alibi?” Jaehwan asks. Sometimes it’s so blindingly obvious that Jaehwan’s a munitions expert; subtly is not a word in his vocabulary.  
  
“Because if Daniel knows Seongwoo is here and he knows Seongwoo is an art thief and suddenly there’s a robbery then Seongwoo’s going to be suspicious of Daniel,” Jonghyun explains. He doesn’t know if Daniel would turn Seongwoo in - potentially if his job was at stake.  
  
“Okay, so how will Daniel know that Seongwoo has an alibi?” Sungwoon asks curiously.  
  
“Don’t worry, Kahi’s going to help him provide a very public one,” Minhyun says taking a great deal of enjoyment out of how much Seongwoo is going to hate every second of it.  
  
“Alright, anything else?”  
  
“We’re going to bug his apartment just to keep track of him,” Jonghyun tells Jaehwan, since Sungwoon already knows this part, “Which feels really invasive,”  
  
“But we have to do it,” Minhyun reminds him, grabbing his hand. Jonghyun knows that; he doesn’t have to like it.  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun agrees. He just has to remind himself that protecting all ten members of his team is more important than one person’s privacy. Even if that person was once one of his closest friends.  
  
“Daehwi?” Jaehwan guesses, because he’s worked with them enough he can follow most of the time even if he doesn’t agree.  
  
Jonghyun nods in agreement, “not that it’ll do much good though since Jinyoung is already so overworked, adding keeping track of Daniel’s location and listening to his conversations to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything is too much.”  
  
If everyone else he trusted wasn’t already ruled out then he would seriously consider calling someone else in to share Jinyoung’s load.  
  
“I can do it,” Jaehwan volunteers surprising Jonghyun, “Not any of the technology stuff but the listening and tracking shouldn’t be too hard.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Minhyun asks before Jonghyun gets the chance.  
  
“Besides tripping power surges every few days I’m basically sitting on my hands for the next two weeks,” Jaehwan shrugs his shoulders, underselling how much work he does like always, “So it’ll give me something to do.”  
  
“Alright, thank you,” Jonghyun mutters, pulling out his notebook to jot that down on Jaehwan’s list of duties, “I’ll get Jinyoung to fill you in.”  
  
“When is Daehwi planting the bug?” Sungwoon asks, having taken a particular interest in all the younger kids in the few days he’s been here, “Is he prepared?”  
  
“We’ll make sure he is before he goes in,” Minhyun says, “Jinyoung needs a few days to get everything sorted anyway.”  
  
“We’ll just have to be really careful in the meantime,” Jonghyun says, tapping his pen on the cover of his notebook, “Me, Minhyun and Jaehwan. Seongwoo as well but the cat’s out of the bag on that front.”  
  
“You just want an excuse to sit on your ass and not work for a few days,” Jaehwan tells Jonghyun pointing an accusing finger in his direction, “I’m onto you Kim Jonghyun you’re not as mysterious as you think you are.”  
  
“Oh?” Jonghyun raises an eyebrow, “Say that again when you’re on van duty with the chicks.”  
  
“Ahh, I’m sorry,” Jaehwan says, throwing himself at Jonghyun’s feet in an exaggerated grovel, “I’ll never doubt your superior work ethic ever again supreme leader, just don’t make me work with those two,” melodramatic bastard.  
  
“You make it sound like I’m running a cult,” Jonghyun mutters, willing Jaehwan to his feet.  
  
“Well,” Minhyun says with a sly smile that never means anything good, “Aren’t you?”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  
  
Despite Daehwi’s reluctance to go through with the whole bugging Daniel plot, once they get started on it he’s actually somewhat of a natural.  
  
They wait until Jisung and Daniel are both out at work (Jinyoung is able to track Jisung by the phone number he’s been using to call Jonghyun and Daniel through the Echelon’s cameras) and send Daehwi in.  
  
The apartment block they live in is on top of a shopping mall so Daehwi simply let’s himself into a public bathroom three floors below them and climbs up through the vents having memorised the blueprints of the building Jinyoung had shown him the night before (his memory is no joke).  
  
“Okay, I’m in,” Daehwi says sounding hesitant but also pleased with himself, “What now?”  
  
Jinyoung talks Daehwi first through placing bugs where they’ll get the best sound or angle, getting Daehwi to send him pictures every now and then for reference.  
  
Minhyun, Sungwoon and Jonghyun are left with pretty much nothing to do except offer a couple of helpful suggestions about making sure bugs aren’t seen.  
  
“Oh, and remember to put the virus I gave you on his laptop,” Jinyoung tells Daehwi absentmindedly before excusing himself for a minute, probably to the bathroom (considering the amount of coffee he mainlines Jonghyun isn’t surprised).  
  
“Okay, once I’m done with the bugs,” Daehwi says sounding like he’s concentrating really hard.  
  
“Maybe do the laptop first,” Minhyun suggests gently, tapping away on his phone, “Just in case something goes wrong and you have to get out of there, a few bugs and the laptop is more important than complete bug coverage but no laptop.”  
  
“Okay,” Daehwi says obediently before the line goes quiet as he works.  
  
Jonghyun uses the opportunity to send Boa another update (wondering if she even needs them. When he’d told her about Daniel, because there was no way he was keeping it from her since he valued her life, she hadn’t sounded surprised in the slightest. Jonghyun hopes that was just a poker face and she hadn’t known all along and been keeping it from them).  
  
“Umm Jonghyun,” Daehwi says suddenly, sounding more worried than he has in weeks - like he did right back at the first meeting, “This person we’re bugging? Who knows who it is?”  
  
Jonghyun is so used to things going south this job that his stomach doesn’t even drop at that, “Me, Minhyun, Sungwoon,” Jonghyun says, not sure how much to tell Daehwi. If the half the team that don’t know about Daniel find out that he told the other half the team it wouldn’t be good.  
  
“Everyone on the comms right now?” Daehwi asks. Jonghyun chances a glance at Jinyoung, who does know, and puts a finger over his lips.  
  
Jinyoung nods in understanding.  
  
“Yeah Daehwi. Jinyoung’s still in the bathroom so everyone on comms right now knows,” Jonghyun says.  
  
“Does Seongwoo know?” Daehwi asks essentially confirming what Jonghyun suspects - he’s found something to incriminating about Daniel’s identity.  
  
“Why do you ask?” Jonghyun asks carefully exchanging a look with Minhyun.  
  
“Well,” Daehwi says taking a deep breath before he runs his words together, “This person you’re getting me to bug is Seongwoo’s Daniel isn’t it?”  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t know what to say to that. As far as he remembered he’d never even told Daehwi that Daniel was Seongwoo’s ex, just to keep an eye out on him. He must have told him at some point though because Daehwi hadn’t hesitated when he’d called Daniel Seongwoo’s.  
  
Minhyun gestures at him to say something, but before Jonghyun can gather his thoughts Daehwi starts speaking again, “I didn’t mean to pry, I swear, it’s just. The wallpaper of his laptop is a picture of Seongwoo kissing this guys cheek and they look so happy and just you told me to be on the look out for him way back when and so I assumed,” Daehwi trails off lamely.  
  
Jonghyun knows exactly which photo Daehwi is talking about, Minhyun had been the one to take it. He’s mostly stuck on the fact that it is still Daniel’s wallpaper after everything that’s happened. If the voicemail that Seongwoo had showed him hadn’t confirmed there’s more to this story then that certainly would have.  
  
Daniel still cares about Seongwoo to some extent, but that hadn’t been enough to stop him for leaving.  
  
Jonghyun truly believes Seongwoo when he says he doesn’t know why Daniel left, but he also believes Daniel wouldn’t have cut and run without a very good reason.  
  
It’s a mystery for sure, and one that Jonghyun really wishes they’d been able to sort without dragging the rest of them into this.  
  
At the very least he now has confirmation that Daniel still cares about Seongwoo - enough that he almost certainly won’t turn him in.  
  
For the old crimes at least.  
  
“Yeah,” Minhyun answers for Jonghyun as he’s caught up in his thoughts, ignoring Daehwi’s question, “It’s Daniel. Seongwoo’s ex.”  
  
“Why are we bugging Seongwoo’s ex?” Daehwi asks, sounding more conflicted than he had before (which was hard because he’d had real moral opposition to bugging someone).  
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun exchange another look, a quick conversation.  
  
Minhyun wants to tell Daehwi the truth, Jonghyun thinks it’s a bad idea. That telling him the truth will just build distrust in Seongwoo which will bring the whole job down.  
  
Minhyun thinks that will just mean everyone will lose trust in Jonghyun if they ever find out.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t mind, as long as that’s after the job is finished.  
  
Minhyun quirks his head to the side, deferring to Jonghyun.  
  
“Because we didn’t know he’d be here,” Jonghyun’s not even lying to Daehwi, technically, “And we just want to make sure that his path doesn’t cross ours.”  
  
“That’s all?” Daehwi asks hesitantly, sounding like he’s uncomfortable but doesn’t want to openly argue with Jonghyun, “We’re not stalking his conversations or anything?”  
  
“No,” Jonghyun says firmly, even though that’s kind of the purpose of bugging the apartment, “We just need to make sure that he doesn’t see us and realise we’re here. That’s why we’re putting trackers in his things.”  
  
“Why are we bugging his apartment then instead of just tracking his phone?” Daehwi asks quietly, too quick for his own good.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t know what to say to that but thank goodness for Ha Sungwoon who hadn’t said much so far but quickly jumps in, “We just want to make sure that he’s not talking about us. We’re going to set up the computer so it scans the audio for mention of our names, and only listen to those bits.”  
  
That kind of sounds like bullshit to Jonghyun, he doesn’t even know if technology is able to do that (there’s a reason he always needs a tech guy on every job no matter how small - he’s hopeless at it himself), but it puts Daehwi’s mind at ease.  
  
“Okay then,” he says, and Jonghyun can basically see the way he’s nodding, “I guess I can accept that.”  
  
“Good,” Jonghyun tells him, glad this conversation is settled for now (although they’re going to have to have a conversation with Daehwi about not letting this slip to anyone else).  
  
“You might want to hurry up though,” Sungwoon tells him with a glance at his phone, “Because he’s on his way home right about now.”  
  
He angles his screen so Jonghyun can see it. It’s a text from Jinyoung (who Jonghyun remembers is technically pretending not to be on this call anymore) letting them know that Daniel has left the hotel.  
  
“How soon?” Daehwi asks, sounding slightly panicked.  
  
“You have about half an hour, you’re fine,” Jonghyun reassures him, he’s not quite sure why Daniel lives so far from home when all the art gallery employees are given the option of a room on site but it’s a blessing he’s going to accept without too many questions.  
  
“You’re almost done,” Minhyun says taking over the reassurance as Jinyoung beckons Jonghyun over, “Just one more bug and you’ll be fine.”  
  
“We still need to clone his phone,” Jinyoung whispers to Jonghyun as Jonghyun covers the mic on his comm, “It’s not at the house obviously. That program that Daehwi has put on the computer will spread to the phone if he plugs it in, but we can’t be sure he’ll do that since some people rarely update their phones. Plus it only tracks the location of the phone not the actual calls.”  
  
“The location is enough for now,” Jonghyun tells him, listening with half an ear as Daehwi finishes up, “But I think Woojin can probably get close enough in the staff room to clone his phone.”  
  
Jihoon could get closer, but Jonghyun’s made the decision not to tell him already and he’s not going back on that.  
  
“Okay, I’ll work on it,” Jinyoung nods, turning back to his computer.  
  
“I’m done,” Daehwi whispers, even though there’s no one on his end of the coms.  
  
“Good job,” Jonghyun praises him, glad that despite their little hiccup the actual planting of the bugs went off without a hitch, “Come on back.”  
  


* * *

  
  
  
That evening for the first time all eleven of them spend the evening together in the warehouse putting the final touches on the fake vault.  
  
Daehwi has spent pretty much every free moment since he got back from his bugging mission attached to Minhyun’s side. Jonghyun think s it’s both strange and adorable - the way he tucked into Minhyun’s side is cute. but Daehwi’s never really shown any particular attachment to Minhyun before.  
  
Then again everyone gets attached to Minhyun - he’s way too easy to like.  
  
Seonho spends most of the evening eyeing Daehwi in a way he probably thinks is subtle, jealous of the attention he’s getting from Minhyun. (Sometimes Jonghyun feels like Seonho exaggerates his affections for Minhyun for comedic effect - other times he’s not so sure).  
  
They take a break just after midnight, sending the chicks off to bring back dinner for everyone. Jaehwan volunteers to go with them to stop Seonho eating everything before they get back (though Jonghyun’s pretty sure he actually means helping Seonho eat everything before they get back).  
  
Jonghyun sits on the floor, leaning against one of the fake vaults, watching with a fond smile as the team bicker and bond. Minhyun is still doting on Daehwi, and Jinyoung and Woojin are hunched over Jinyoung’s laptop talking in low voices (they could be talking about cloning the phone or they could be watching funny animal videos - it’s hard to tell with those two).  
  
“So,” Sungwoon says, appearing out of nowhere to sit next to Jonghyun, “Seongwoo seems better.”  
  
“Better?” Jonghyun asks absently, looking over to where Jihoon and Seongwoo sitting on top of one of the finished vaults. From the way Jihoon is shaking his head adamantly and Seongwoo’s smug grin he’s probably teasing Jihoon; managing to get under his skin in the way that Seongwoo has perfected over the years.  
  
“I don’t know if you talked some sense into him, or just telling you his problems helped him, but he seems lighter? Less caught up in his own head,” Sungwoon says with a thoughtful tilt of his head, “Maybe he just felt so guilty at disappointing you that he’ll be on the straight and narrow for the rest of eternity.”  
  
Jonghyun snorts, “I’m hardly on the straight and narrow myself.”  
  
“You’re on the wrong side of the law, but I’d say you’re still one of the, well I can’t say straight and narrow. I guess one of the most morally upstanding  people I know,” Sungwoon tells him.  
  
Jonghyun feels heat rising into his face, unsure what to say to that, “Thank you?”  
  
Sungwoon can sense his discomfort (heck Minhyun can from across the room by the look he shoots Jonghyun. Jonghyun shakes his head in response, he’s fine) because he grins, “speaking of Seongwoo…”  
  
“Oh no,” Jonghyun bangs his head back against the vault shelf behind him, “What’s he done?”  
  
“Nothing bad,” Sungwoon reassures him. The way he’s grinning isn’t very reassuring though, “Just, he’s trying to give Jihoon love advice.”  
  
“He’s what?” Jonghyun asks incredulously, so shocked he accidentally yells - attracting pretty much everyone’s eyes to them.  
  
“Just Taehyun being Taehyun, never mind,” Sungwoon says to the rest of the room as Jonghyun tries to hide his laughter into the sleeves of his jumper.  
  
Everyone loses interest quickly so Jonghyun can interrogate Sungwoon, “Seongwoo? Is giving love advice?”  
  
“Yep,” Sungwoon says. Jonghyun understands why he’s so amused (and is glad it really is nothing bad - depending on your definition of bad).  
  
“I hope Jihoon isn’t listening to him,” Jonghyun says in horror. He loves Seongwoo but the only stable relationship he ever had was with Daniel and that was less than conventional (and they all know how it ended).  
  
“Well it’s about that curator he’s friends with? Who he doesn’t actually like despite the teasing, so no I don’t think he’s going to take his advice,” Sungwoon says, looking more relaxed than he has in a while.  
  
“I hope he has enough sense not to take his advice period,” Jonghyun mutters turning his eyes back to the pair in question. Jihoon’s flush and Seongwoo’s delight all make sense now, make it all the more amusing.  
  
“Well, hey at least Seongwoo’s trying?” Sungwoon offers.  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says. Even if he’s trying too hard at least he can hear the word relationship now without getting weird and awkward.  
  
It’s progress, if only they can keep that progress up.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Daniel gets his first paid gallery jobs two years after Jonghyun meets him, three years after he starts dating Seongwoo and eighteen months after he learns about their ‘line of work’.  
  
Jonghyun had known Daniel was studying fine arts - Printmaking specifically - before he’d ever met him. He’d known a whole lot about Daniel from the way Seongwoo never shut up about him.  
  
It’s why he’d had a very different image of Daniel in his mind before he’d met him. Someone smaller, meeker and more put together (“You expected yourself” Minhyun had laughed when Jonghyun had eventually told him that. Jonghyun supposes maybe he had - although he hadn’t even taken his college entrance exams so he always expected Daniel to be smarter than him).  
  
Daniel looked like what Jonghyun had always assumed American frat boys looked like. Rough around the edges and casual, charming but with something cheeky and reckless just under the surface.  
  
Daniel ended up being nothing like what Seongwoo was expecting. He also ended up being nothing like Jonghyun’s first impression of him.  
  
He was playful and childish, charming and kind. He was everything Seongwoo deserved and needed (and later Jonghyun would come to learn that Daniel deserved as much. If Jonghyun thought Seongwoo deserved the sun well then Daniel deserved the world).  
  
He was also painfully, surprisingly passionate about art.  
  
Which is why he’d been so terribly excited about his placement. A paid summer internship - separate from his Masters in Curatorial Studies.  
  
Jonghyun could hear the excitement in his voice when Daniel had called him up, halfway across the world in Germany, to tell him the news - had begged him not to tell Minhyun so that he could tell everyone himself.  
  
It was adorable, Jonghyun thought, that someone could be so incredibly passionate about something. About something they could make their living doing (legally).  
  
Jonghyun felt the excitement for him, the way it spilled over even down the phone line. Which is why he was surprised on returning to Seoul to celebrate with Daniel that something felt off.  
  
Daniel was still happy, nervous for the challenge to come, but there was something muted about it.  
  
A kind of hesitance, doubts beyond the ones to be expected.  
  
Jonghyun waited it out, waiting to see if Seongwoo knew what was up, but as the days passed it got worse. Daniel got more introspective until Jonghyun felt like he had to ask. Had to make sure Daniel was okay.  
  
He waits until Minhyun and Seongwoo are out, off to pick some supplied up for a job they were leaving for in a few days.  
  
Then he sits down next to Daniel on the couch he’d helped the two of them pick out when they moved in together (though Seongwoo was away more than he was here) and asked Daniel, “Are you okay?”  
  
Daniel smiles at him. It’s a bright smile, one that might have fooled Jonghyun if he didn’t know him so well and says, “Yeah, totally. Why?”  
  
“It just, seems like something’s bothering you,” Jonghyun tells him straight to the point. The way Daniel bites his lip basically gives him away - Daniel had nothing even resembling a poker face on him, “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,” Jonghyun says gently, not wanting to scare him off “I just wanted you to know I’m here if you want to talk.”  
  
Daniel shifts his weight between his legs, eyes trained on the television in front of him. He wants to talk, he just doesn’t know where to start.  
  
So Jonghyun waits him out. Sits next to him patiently, also looking at the television but not really seeing (he couldn’t have told you at the time what was playing - his mind more occupied with the upcoming job).  
  
“I can’t help thinking,” Daniel says, finally, “and I know it’s stupid, that Seongwoo’s gotten what he wants now?”  
  
“What, moving in with you?” Jonghyun asks, genuinely confused as to what Daniel is talking about. For how straightforward Daniel usually is is sometimes things get mixed up in his head to the point he’s thinking about things in a way that makes no sense to anyone else.  
  
“No, me getting this job,” Daniel says, playing with the decorative pillow in his lap (Seongwoo lives in a house with decorative pillows now - Jonghyun never thought he’d see the day).  
  
“He wants you to be happy and fulfilled if that’s what you mean,” Jonghyun says. He thinks he knows what Daniel means but he wants him to be able to say it.  
  
“No, I mean,” Daniel says before stopping. Jonghyun thinks he’s going to wear a hole in that pillow at this rate, “I mean, have I given Seongwoo access? Is that all he needed from me.”  
  
Jonghyun’s first reaction is a burning desire to defend Seongwoo. Ask Daniel how on earth he could think that badly of Seongwoo, how he could think Seongwoo was cruel enough to fake it for three years. The teenage Jonghyun he’s long buried hurts for his friend at the mere accusation Daniel is making.  
  
Jonghyun isn’t a teenager anymore though so he takes a deep breath and really looks at Daniel. Looks at how small and uncertain he looks; guilty and ashamed that the thought has even crossed his mind.  
  
The thing is Jonghyun knows Seongwoo, knows how close he holds his cards to his chest even with Daniel who he obviously adores. The thing is he knows Daniel is still uncertain about this thief business even if he loves Seongwoo enough to turn a blind eye.  
  
Jonghyun thinks he knows how Daniel came to this conclusion.  
  
“Seongwoo adores you,” Jonghyun tells Daniel seriously. Seongwoo loves Daniel, but he’s not sure Seongwoo has told Daniel that yet (despite how long it’s been) so it’s not his place to say, “He wants the best for you. He’s not going to use you to rob someone.”  
  
“It sounds stupid when you say it,” Daniel tells Jonghyun, slightly petulantly.  
  
Maybe it does, but Daniel still has reason for thinking that way.  
  
“I just, can’t help thinking that maybe that’s been his play all along,” Daniel says looking away from Jonghyun, “And then I feel bad about thinking that because I love him. But, then I remember how we met and I just, that voice in the back of my head starts up and I don’t want to listen to it, but it just won’t shut up.”  
  
There’s a lot of things that Jonghyun could say to Daniel. He could point out that Seongwoo probably wouldn’t have stuck around for three whole years on the possibility that Daniel might get a job or a placement at a gallery worth robbing rather than a private collection or a small local gallery. He could point out that if Seongwoo’s plan had been to use Daniel all along he never would have told Daniel about his real career.  
  
Could point out that Daniel’s internship last year was at a gallery far more prestigious than this one and Seongwoo hadn’t robbed that.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t say of this because knows that Daniel doesn’t need rationality or logic. Daniel needs reassurance of an emotional sort.  
  
“You know none of us would do that to you Daniel,” Jonghyun says firmly, reaching out to grab Daniel’s hands, “Not me or Seongwoo or Minhyun,”  
  
“I know,” Daniel tells him, squeezing Jonghyun’s hands as a substitute for the pillow. He tries not to flinch, “But, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”  
  
“Makes sense?” Jonghyun prompts.  
  
“Why, Seongwoo has,” Daniel starts to say before cutting himself off, sounding so, so small.  
  
“Seongwoo cares about you, don’t ever doubt that,” Jonghyun tells him fiercely, squeezing his hands in return. Jonghyun curses Seongwoo and his inability to talk about things that mean something to him.  
  
“Okay,” Daniel says, still looking unsure but like Jonghyun’s words have reassured him slightly. Jonghyun makes a mental note to slap Seongwoo around the head a little for making Daniel think this way.  
  
“None of us are going to rob you or use you against your will in a job,” Jonghyun tells him. He hasn’t discussed this with the others but he doesn’t need to; that’s not the way they work, “You know we won’t. We care about you”  
  
“Seongwoo said it’s because it’d be too easy to track back to him and he’s not that sloppy,” Daniel tells him, in a small voice, surprising Jonghyun. He didn’t think Daniel would have actually asked Seongwoo, the tactless answer he apparently received though was so very Seongwoo “I think he thought I was joking.”  
  
Jonghyun snorts, that sounds like Seongwoo hiding his emotions behind a joke. Because Seongwoo is good at reading people, good at reading Daniel; he would have known that Daniel was really insecure about this.  
  
Seongwoo is just more insecure in his own emotions; unwilling to voice them even to Daniel (in the future he’ll get better at it - which makes everything all the more painful).  
  
Sometimes Jonghyun wonders how Daniel deals with him.  
  
“Well, that’s also true,” Jonghyun says because it is; if Seongwoo was using Daniel he wouldn’t live with him, “But the bigger point is that Seongwoo would never do that to you. He loves you too much.” Jonghyun forgets his earlier decision not to tell Daniel that; he feels like maybe Daniel needs to hear it.  
  
A dusting of red appears along the top of Daniel’s ears; Jonghyun pretends not to notice it.  
  
“We all love you too much Daniel,” Jonghyun tells him, more earnest than he’s been in a long time, “And I promise you that we’ll never use you to pull a job and we’ll never rob your place of employment.”  
  
Daniel smiles at Jonghyun. Big and bright like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.  
  
Not five minutes later Minhyun and Seongwoo return, Daniel getting up from the couch and practically throwing himself at Seongwoo as he walks in the door.  
  
“Hi,” Seongwoo says in amusement, shooting Jonghyun a questioning look over his head. Jonghyun shrugs.  
  
“Hi,” Daniel smiles back as he lifts Seongwoo off the floor.  
  
“What’s gotten into you?” Seongwoo asks Daniel with a laugh. He looks relieved though, like he’d noticed Daniel’s mood but wasn’t sure how to deal with it.  
  
“Murderous intention,” Daniel tells him cheerfully, squeezing him tightly.  
  
“I can see that,” Seongwoo wheezes out, probably pretending to be more out of breathe than he is, “It’s sexy.”  
  
It’s only when Daniel laughs at that, bright and happy that Jonghyun realises his laugh has been off the last few weeks.  
  
“Disgusting,” Minhyun says, coming to sit on the arm of the chair next to Jonghyun and throwing an arm over his shoulder, “They should be illegal.”  
  
“They’re young and in love,” Jonghyun says, looking away from where they’re now honest to god making out against the wall.  
  
“We’re young and in love, we were never like that,” Minhyun mutters, running his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair.  
  
Seongwoo manages to break away from Daniel long enough to call out a snide, “That’s because you’re both old men in soul,” before Daniel’s whining and pulling his attention back towards him (as if Daniel isn’t the centre of Seongwoo’s attention whenever he’s in the room).  
  
“Kid has a point,” Jonghyun nods. He feels so old sometimes, like he was forced to grow up way beyond his time (he was).  
  
“Well, if it means we were never like that,” Minhyun crinkles his nose in distaste, even though he’s not hiding how fond he is of the two of them in the slightest.  
  
“I don’t know, I think it’s nice,” Jonghyun leans his head against Minhyun’s shoulders, “They’re cute.”  
  
Minhyun hums in agreement before dropping his voice to ask quietly, “I take it you found out what was up with Daniel?”  
  
“Yeah, it was nothing,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun because in the end it was.  
  
“Didn’t seem like nothing,” Minhyun points out, sounding less than impressed. Jonghyun will explain it to him later, when Seongwoo isn’t around  
  
“Nothing a promise couldn’t fix,” Jonghyun says with a shrug.  
  
“I hope you’re not making promises you can’t keep again Kim Jonghyun,” Minhyun says with a long suffering sigh.  
  
“Nah,” Jonghyun shakes his head with a sincere smile, “It was the easiest, most honest promise I’ve ever had to make.”  
  
It’s been almost five years since he made the promise; he’s not sure if Daniel even remembers it but Jonghyun does.  
  
After five years Jonghyun is going to break the most sincere promise he’d ever made.  
  
Jonghyun hates breaking promises.  
  
But breaking this one in particular makes him feel like the very worst kind of scum. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your dumb ass neighbourhood author burned the entire length of the inside of her wrist making dinner the other night so typing was Difficult and Painful. Also this chapter? was a struggle in general it just REALLY didn’t wanna cooperate. 
> 
> Anyway I finally sat down and sketched out every chapter summary for the rest of the fic this weekend. So good news is I know now about how many chapters it’ll be, bad news? That under 100K goal is basically never gonna happen xD

To Jonghyun’s immense relief the ten days after the spanner in the works, curveball, fucking disaster that was finding out about the whole Daniel situation go off pretty much as planned.  
  
He’s not sure he’d have been able to survive another unplanned occurrence with his sanity (or hair) in tact.  
  
That’s not to say everything runs smoothly of course. Seongwoo and Minhyun are still circling each other in a tense stalemate; neither of them willing to approach the other first to talk out their differences. Jinyoung is still overworked immensely despite Jaehwan’s help and Sungwoon is probably three minutes away from ending up stretched too thin as well. The chicks are getting restless now they’ve finished outfitting their vans and have to wait. Woojin’s posture seems just a little bit more deflated every time Jonghyun sees him and Daehwi grows more visibly nervous with every passing day.  
  
Then of course there’s the matter of Daniel. Jonghyun may have worked out a way to deal with his presence for the first part of the plan, but the second part is proving trickier purely because Seongwoo is so integral to it.   
  
The weekend before the gallery heist they go in for a dry run, break in just to see if they can beat the security system (Jonghyun is confident they can) and make sure there’s no unexpected hiccups.  
  
As a bonus Sungwoon gets as long as he wants to examine the prints for any small details he’s missed without attracting anyone’s attention (Jihoon is one thing, someone else that interested in the prints just before they go missing is not a level of scrutiny they want to attract).  
  
Unsurprisingly they get in with no problems Jinyoung reports happily to Jonghyun as they sit in the suite and watch on the camera Sungwoon installed the other day.  
  
“Okay,” Jonghyun nods pleased but not surprised, “I am going to head back then,” he tells Jinyoung seeing as he has no real desire to watching Sungwoon wander around and observe the paintings whilst the rest of them wait for him to be finished, “Once they’re out you need to take the next twelve hours off, alright?”  
  
“But,” Jinyoung starts to protest because of course he does. Something on Jonghyun’s face must stop him though because he doesn’t continue his sentence.  
  
“Both of us are going to get a good nights sleep tonight because we cannot afford to be operating on a half tank going forward,” Jonghyun tells him. Hypocritical of himself perhaps but he means it when he says his plans for tonight include sleeping. In an ideal world for twelve hours. Obviously they don’t live in an ideal world.  
  
“Okay,” Jinyoung bows his head.   
  
Jonghyun’s not sure if Jinyoung is actually going to follow his orders or not. It depends if his stubbornness or respect for Jonghyun’s leadership is greater.  
  
Just to be safe he sends Daehwi a message and asks him to check on Jinyoung when he finished up with Sungwoon.   
  
“Goodnight Jinyoung,” Jonghyun says pointedly as he leaves. He’s not sure if Jinyoung doesn’t respond because he’s making a point or if he’s just gotten distracted by his work again.  
  
Jonghyun does head home then, and because he’s nothing if not a man of his word he heads straight for bed.  
  
He just needs to send Boa an email before he sleeps so he curls up in bed with his phone to type it out.  
  
Except at some point he must fall asleep because he’s unceremoniously woken up by the sound of the bedroom door banging against the wall, having been flung open hard.  
  
“Minhyun?” He questions, because he’s not sure who else would be coming into his room at 5 in the morning, but then Minhyun never slams doors.  
  
“Not quite,” Sungwoon says. Sungwoon’s not usually one to go slamming doors either so he must be particularly excited about something (or concerned about something but Jonghyun really hopes it’s excited).  
  
Jonghyun has had years of experience having to rouse himself quickly from sleep but he still struggles to shake the grogginess off completely as he watches Sungwoon shut the door behind himself.  
  
He really needs to take his own advice to Jinyoung because he’s well below a half tank at this point.   
  
“Okay, so” Sungwoon says, sitting himself on the bottom of Jonghyun’s bed like he’s been invited, “There’s something you need to know.”  
  
Jonghyun sits up with a groan, “This doesn’t sound good.”  
  
“I don’t think its bad,” Sungwoon says thoughtfully, “Unexpected, but not bad.”  
  
“Well, what is it then?” Jonghyun asks him with a sigh, “Save the theatrics for Seongwoo or Jaehwan.”  
  
“About a dozen of Ahn’s prints are already forgeries,” Sungwoon says, spreading his hands out in front of him as if offering Jonghyun something, “Really good forgeries, like I probably never would have noticed if I wasn’t trying to forge them myself, but forgeries none the less.”  
  
“Oh,” Jonghyun says to acknowledge that he’s heard as he tries to fit this information into the bigger picture.  
  
From everything they know about Ahn and his underhanded business dealings it doesn’t surprise him. There are a number of reasons some of his prints could be forgeries. He was duped himself, he’s sold them on the black market or some sort of insurance fraud scheme. Perhaps there’s an innocent explanation, he has the real ones locked away to preserve them and the fakes on display.   
  
Jonghyun doesn’t think thats likely, but he has to consider all possibilities.   
  
“Are any of the forgeries prints you were forging?” Jonghyun asks him slowly.  
  
“Two,” Sungwoon answers with a twist of his mouth that Jonghyun can’t even hope to read.   
  
Jonghyun bunches the sheets in his hands as he thinks, clenching and unclenching his hands, “Well. What do you think then?”  
  
“What do I think?” Sungwoon asks slowly asking for clarification. That’s fair enough, Jonghyun should have been more specific.  
  
“Does this change anything about this first heist? Do we go ahead as planned? Or do we adjust accordingly?” Jonghyun asks the questions he’s running over in his head.  
  
Sungwoon stares at him, “Are you actually asking my opinion or are you just talking it out?”  
  
It’s a legitimate question that Sungwoon has reason to ask but something in Jonghyun still smarts at the inquiry.   
  
“I’m asking your opinion,” Jonghyun admits. There’s too much going on in this job and he’s stretching himself too thin; he needs help.  
  
“I think,” Sungwoon says, biting on his lip as he thinks, “That maybe we stick with the plan except we make the catalyst one of the forgeries.”  
  
Jonghyun tilts his head, asking Sungwoon to elaborate his line of thinking.   
  
“You said Ahn was ego driven right? And the plan is basically 80% inflating his ego to make him blind to what’s going on under his nose. I think this will just add that little bit more fuel to the fire,” Sungwoon explains.   
  
It’s a very well thought out opinion, it makes a lot of sense. Not the line of thinking Jonghyun would have gone for or was even considering but now that Sungwoon’s said it he thinks that it will work.   
  
Jonghyun’s always trusted Sungwoon of course, he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t. Maybe he can start trusting Sungwoon with a little more.  
  
“Okay. We’ll go with that then,” Jonghyun tells him.  
  
“That’s it, we’re just going with that?” Sungwoon asks looking genuinely confused.  
  
“Well I wasn’t going to ask your opinion to ignore you,” Jonghyun points out, clenching his fists even tighter around the blankets.  
  
Sungwoon visibly relaxes his shoulders, “Okay. Thank you.”  
  
Jonghyun has no idea how on earth he’s supposed to respond to the thanks so he ignores it, and instead says “This makes our final exit neater though.”  
  
“It does,” Sungwoon nods, opening his mouth before he’s interrupted by the door opening again.  
  
Jonghyun looks up, only slightly disappointed that it’s still not Minhyun (He honestly has no idea where Minhyun even is. There’s nothing he’s supposed to be doing for the job right now although it’s not like Jonghyun is his keeper).   
  
“Hey,” Seongwoo says as let’s himself into the room.  
  
“You guys know this is my bedroom right? Not a common area?” Jonghyun asks them mildly.  
  
“Yeah,” Seongwoo shrugs carelessly as he sits against the headboard next to Jonghyun.  
  
“Minhyun’s not here though so we’re pretty safe,” Sungwoon explains with a cheeky grin.  
  
Jonghyun thinks about throwing a pillow at Sungwoon but considering it would take some awkward shuffling on his behalf, or groping Seongwoo, he decides he can’t be bothered.   
  
“Do you need something?” Jonghyun asks Seongwoo, wondering if there’s another bombshell about to be dropped on him (not that Sungwoon’s news was a bombshell or particularly unpleasant to hear).  
  
“Uhh,” Seongwoo says, looking anywhere but at Jonghyun.  
  
It’s okay though because this is a side of Seongwoo that Jonghyun is intimately familiar with, one that’s craving connection but not desperate enough yet to ask for it.  
  
Jonghyun lifts an arm and pulls Seongwoo into his side since Seongwoo will never take the hint. He complains for all of ten seconds before settling in contentment.   
  
“What sort of secret planning have you got going on at this time of the morning?” Seongwoo asks him instead of commenting on it.  
  
“We’re just, comparing notes of the run through,” Jonghyun tells him.   
  
“Oh, yeah some of the prints are fakes right?” Seongwoo asks sounding smug that he knows that, “Jihoon mentioned it,” he elaborates.  
  
“Yeah, some of them are fake,” Sungwoon confirms wiggling his legs in front of him slightly.  
  
“Good,” Seongwoo says in a way that could perhaps be described as petty as he starts to play with the back of Seongwoo’s shirt, “Makes him less likely to report it.”  
  
“Or he could get compensation for prints that he never had,” Jonghyun points out which is the biggest problem they have, if things don’t go to plan.  
  
“Nah, trust me on this,” Seongwoo says in a way that’s not exactly the most reassuring.   
  
“Do I want to ask?” Sungwoon asks what Jonghyun himself is too scared to.  
  
“I just know a thing or two about those kinds of asshole,” Seongwoo says as if that explains anything. It really doesn’t.  
  
“By those kinds of asshole do you mean yourself?” Jonghyun can’t help teasing Seongwoo lightly, more than deserving the gentle elbow he gets in the side.   
  
“Shut up,” Seongwoo mutters unnecessarily before he starts to ask Sungwoon genuinely curious questions about the forgeries (Jonghyun forgets sometimes that Daniel and Seongwoo had gotten together at first because of their mutual love of art).  
  
Jonghyun tunes out at some point, rearranging himself so he’s laying with his head on Seongwoo’s lap letting the sound of their conversations wash over him.  
  
He could (and should) kick them both out and actually get some rest like he planned to do but he’s too content in this moment of normalcy to bother.  
  
They talk for an age, Jonghyun only chiming in occasionally because his strengths lie in the heist rather than the art.   
  
Seongwoo’s hand has made his way to Jonghyun’s hair and the sun has started to rise by the time Minhyun returns.  
  
“You’re not Jonghyun,” he pauses in the doorway, looking at Seongwoo suspiciously.  
  
“I could be,” Seongwoo leers at Minhyun; that weirdly tense undercurrent still there but noticeably lesser. Like it’s been stretches so thin that it’s about to dissolve into nothing. Of course it might just be that both of them are too tired to put much effort in.  
  
Jonghyun pinches Seongwoo’s side in reproach anyway.  
  
“That doesn’t really make any sense,” Sungwoon frowns. His first mistake was trying to find meaning in Seongwoo’s nonsense.   
  
“I could roleplay as Jonghyun, if that’s what Minhyun’s into,” Seongwoo says carelessly, “I just need to dial up the self blame and wear clothes three sizes too big for me,” he says like Seongwoo’s normal wardrobe isn’t 80% things he’s clearly stolen from Daniel over the years.   
  
“Yeah you could do with some self blame,” Minhyun mutters under his breath but loud enough that Seongwoo is obviously meant to hear it. Jonghyun can feel Seongwoo’s posture stiffen.  
  
“If you two could lay off on the weird sexual tension thing until after I’ve had a good nights sleep,” Jonghyun says playfully and maybe slightly sleep delirious, “I would appreciate it.”  
  
“You haven’t been sleeping? I can help you with that,” Seongwoo says, his lecherous tone not enough to hide the genuine concern in his words.   
  
“You can, by shutting up,” Jonghyun says, pulling the bed sheets up to his chin without moving off of Seongwoo, “Goodnight.”  
  
“I think,” Sungwoon says slowly, getting off the bed if the movement of it is anything to go by, “This is the point I excuse myself before things get weird.”  
  
“You missed that boat,” Seongwoo mutters so quietly only Jonghyun can hear him.  
  
“Goodnight,” Jonghyun says just moments before he hears the door opening and closing again.  
  
He really is tired beyond belief so he let’s Minhyun and Seongwoo’s stilted conversation wash over him; not really listening to the words and instead letting the sound of his two favourite people on the planet trying to be civil lull him into the best nights sleep he’s had in a long time (though it’s hardly night anymore).  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Kahi promised there’s a knock on the front front of the house one morning, exactly ten days after their phone call (Jonghyun won’t admit he’s gotten so swept up in details he forgets).  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t bother getting up to answer the door because he can hear Seonho and Daehwi racing for it. Plus he doesn’t think he’s expecting anyone so it’s probably just some sort of salesperson or nosy neighbour.   
  
“Holy shit,” Seonho’s voice rings through the house so loud that Jonghyun can hear him from the breakfast bar in the kitchen, “I know you.”  
  
“Jonghyun,” Guanlin sticks his head into the kitchen with a stage whisper a few seconds later, “There’s a supermodel standing on our front doorstep.”  
  
“There’s a supermodel standing on our front doorstep?” Jonghyun repeats, frowning in confusion. He wonders if Guanlin is being literal or just talking about a very attractive person.   
  
“There is a supermodel standing on our front doorstep,” Minhyun confirms looking up from the screen that’s connected to the cameras on the porch, “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen her face on billboards before.”  
  
“Huh,” Jonghyun says, wracking his brains for an embarrassingly long time before it hits him, “Oh, Kim Doyeon.”   
  
“You know her? You were expecting her?” Guanlin’s eyes widen, sort of.  
  
“She’s Seongwoo’s new girlfriend,” Jonghyun dismisses hoping that either Daehwi or Seonho have the manners to invite her inside.  
  
“Seongwoo has a new girlfriend?” Jihoon asks as he comes into the room looking still half asleep; he was probably up most of the night with Sungwoon working on the prints (Jonghyun makes a mental to remind him that his job is shadowing Ahn and not Sungwoon’s assistant).   
  
“Seongwoo likes girls?” That is Seonho who speaks leading Kim Doyeon and another, much shorter, girl into the kitchen. They both have amused but slightly bemused looks on their faces.  
  
“Doyeon, I presume,” Jonghyun smiles at her getting up to greet both their new arrivals. There’s a few minutes of awkward introductions before Jonghyun shoos most of the team away to do their actual work.  
  
“So,” Jonghyun says as Doyeon and her companion, Yoojung, sit across from him at the breakfast bar, “I presume Kahi gave you details.”  
  
“She did,” Doyeon inclines her head slightly, “But it’s a pretty standard job. Our bread and butter so to speak,” She says shooting Yoojung a conspiratorial look out the side of her eye that Jonghyun doesn’t bother trying to decode.   
  
“Well, I won’t keep you with too many explanations then,” Jonghyun nods his head. He doesn’t really have time to spare anyway though of course he’d have found the time if needed.  
  
“I notice that my new boyfriend isn’t one of the kids milling around the house,” Doyeon says looking quite pleased at this fact.  
  
“Yeah, Seongwoo is over at the Echelon establishing his cover,” Jonghyun tells her pulling out his phone to call Seongwoo back to come and meet her, “I’ll get him to come over we weren’t expecting you until evening.”  
  
“We finished our last job early,” Yoojung speaks up for the first time, defensive.  
  
“If it’s not a hassle to your other job though could I perhaps go and meet Seongwoo at the Echelon?” Doyeon asks. It’s an innocent request but there seems to be something more under it.  
  
Jonghyun exchanges a look with Minhyun who’s still standing by the stove. Minhyun inclines his head as Jonghyun shakes his.  Minhyun rolls his eyes; Jonghyun concedes.  
  
“I’ll take you over,” Minhyun says now that he has Jonghyun’s ‘permission’, “Since there’s something I need to do over there anyway.”  
  
“Great,” Doyeon claps her hands together, her shiny pink nails catching both the light and Jonghyun’s eye.  
  
They speak through some minor details of the job as Minhyun finishes his breakfast before the three of them are on their way.   
  
Doyeon is not at all what Jonghyun expected, though really as one of Kahi’s girls he probably should have.  
  
“How come Seongwoo always gets to make out with the pretty girls?” Seonho whines creeping back into the kitchen as soon as they’re gone  
  
“It’s not like Seongwoo exactly keen,” Jonghyun tells Seonho. Seongwoo’s not really into it for a variety of reasons but he’s going to do it; he knows he’ll be off the job if he doesn’t.   
  
“Come on,” Seonho says with a roll of his eyes, “Did you see her?”  
  
“Seongwoo is gay though, isn’t he?” Guanlin asks having followed Seonho in because of course he has.   
  
Jonghyun ignores the two of them getting back to his work.  
  
“Seongwoo’s not gay,” Seonho says sounding downright offended at the very accusation, though Jonghyun doesn’t care enough to figure out why that would be in any way offensive.  
  
“His dated a dude for seven years that’s pretty gay,” Guanlin rebuts.   
  
“I won’t stand for this bi erasure,” Jonghyun’s not looking at him but he can practically hear the pout in Seonho’s voice.  
  
“Jonghyun-” Guanlin starts to ask.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun answers, gathering his things together since he agreed to meet up with Jaehwan at the motel in twenty minutes and he really needs to get going.  
  
“See,” Seonho crows triumphantly in Guanlin’s face.  
  
“Wait, that doesn’t prove anything, he doesn’t know what I was going to ask,” Guanlin protests, pushing Seonho’s face away from him, “Jonghyun? Is Seongwoo gay or bi?”  
  
Jonghyun just smiles to himself as he walks away not bothering to answer their questions since it’s none of their business and he wants to see how long they’re going to bicker over this for.   
  
He has to get his kicks somewhere.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Whilst Jonghyun may have (grudgingly) agreed to Minhyun’s decision to let Jeon Somi help Woojin and Daehwi with their first part of the plan there’s no way he’s going to send her in without making sure she’s as prepared as she can possibly be on such short notice.  
  
Sending her in unprepared is dangerous; for both their plan and Somi’s safety.  
  
Seongwoo is an obvious choice to help her, since Daehwi isn’t exactly an expert himself and Woojin isn’t so good on the teaching front.  
  
Jonghyun thinks they might need a feminine touch as well though.  
  
He gets Daehwi to ask Somi to come over a couple of days before the meeting was set up to give them plenty of time to pull something together even if she was as hopeless at grifting as Jaehwan.   
  
Somi had eagerly agreed, excited to get started and be taken seriously.   
  
An hour with Hyuna and Seongwoo was enough to dent anyone’s confidence and enthusiasm though. Jonghyun tries not to find it amusing.  
  
“Now you want to be confident but not arrogant,” Seongwoo tells her coming into their third hour at this.  
  
“This is coming from Seongwoo?” Minhyun scoffs to Jonghyun from where the two of them are sitting on the other side of the room. They’re meant to be working so that Somi feels less self conscious, but the show is entirely too distracting.  
  
“Seongwoo can act self conscious if he needs to,” Jonghyun refutes. Seongwoo is oddly good at playing vulnerable and open. He’s just not very good at being them.  
  
“Right,” Somi nods with a determined look on her face, “Confident but not arrogant.”  
  
“You want Ahn, and more generally men, to see you as a threat. A business woman,” Hyuna takes over from where she’s sitting, legs thrown across Seongwoo’s lap, “You want him to see you as a challenge but one he can win. Make him think he has to work for it but that he has a chance. Talk a tough game but make it seem like you’ll crack when put under direct pressure. But above all else don’t let him actually crack you; just let him think he can.”  
  
Somi’s still nodding but she looks hopelessly lost.  
  
“Use the old cliche, the thrill of the chase,” Seongwoo offers lazily playing with Hyuna’s hair with his free hand, “You have to give himself something he can chase without just handing it too him; make him work for it but think he has a chance.”  
  
“Okay, thrill of the chance. Confident but not arrogant,” Somi says looking like she’s taking notes in her head. She’s a diligent student at the very least.  
  
“This would be probably be easier for her if she wasn’t halfway in love with them,” Minhyun whispers  sounding as amused as Jonghyun feels.  
  
“Whose halfway in love with who?” Jaehwan, who has wandered in at some point, asks in what he probably thinks passes for a whisper. Minhyun cringes at how loud he is (he’s just very lucky those three are in their own little world).  
  
“Somi is halfway in love with Seongwoo and Hyuna,” Jonghyun finishes for him. It’s kind of cute, even though both of them would probably eat her alive.   
  
“Oh, well who isn’t,” Jaehwan says with a lazy shrug.  
  
Minhyun raises a hand.  
  
“Please,” Jonghyun snorts physically pulling his hand down, “The first time we met you were so mesmerised by Seongwoo that I’m pretty sure you didn’t even notice I was there.”  
  
“Oooh,” Jaehwan crows, leaning forward like he’s listening to gossip he finds particularly juicy, “Scandalous.”  
  
“That’s not true,” Minhyun protests half heartedly. They both know it’s true, though Jonghyun only brings it up rarely to keep it effective; no use overplaying his best card.  
  
“It’s totally true,” Jonghyun says triumphantly. Minhyun had though his name was Junhyuk for two whole days.  
  
“In my defence,” Minhyun says, “You two were pulling a con on me that’s exactly what you wanted to happen.” It’s his go to excuse every time they mention this, and he’s not exactly wrong though it was less of a con and more of a test.  
  
Regardless Jonghyun (And Seongwoo) are never going to let him forget it.   
  
“How come I’ve never heard this before?” Jaehwan asks genuinely curious. Jonghyun supposes they can add him to the list of people that will never let it go.  
  
“Because it’s not like any of us make a point of trading stories about our lives,” Minhyun says to Jaehwan. Jaehwan doesn’t answer but they didn’t expect him to; out of all of them Jonghyun knows the least about his past. He doesn’t even mention it incidentally.   
  
Minhyun and Jonghyun playfully bicker about their first meeting for a few minutes, a fond memory Jonghyun will always hold above Minhyun’s head, before the tune back into the lesson going on in front of them.   
  
“Think of it this way sweetheart,” Hyuna tells Somi kindly, having moved from where she’s was previously draped all over Seongwoo so that she’s now sitting next to Somi, so close their legs brush. Somi gulps and blushes, “When you’re doing your Cirque du Soleil thing you’re playing  character right? Even though it’s acrobatics it’s not just acrobatics.”  
  
“Yeah,” Somi nods again, she does that a lot kind of like a bobble head or something.  
  
“Well, just channel that. Think of the character you want to play for Ahn. It doesn’t matter that character is a version of yourself it’s no different,” Hyuna explains. That’s a good way to look at it.  
  
“Just you know, with the minor difference of less acrobatics,” Seongwoo points out dryly, unable to keep himself from getting a word in.  
  
Hyuna puts a hand on Somi’s knee, “Ignore the idiot over there and give it a go,” She encourages Somi.  
  
They spend another hour or two working on Somi’s ‘character’ after that and from what Jonghyun can see (because he doesn’t actually have work he needs to be doing) she’s wrapped her head around it a lot better now.  
  
Eventually Somi must pass their high standards because Jonghyun’s interrupted from his scheduling by a loud, somewhat obnoxious clapping. Somi has always looked confident in a bubbly way, but as Jonghyun looks over he notices she looks different, confident in an intimidating way.  
  
“Well my dear,” Seongwoo says theatrically, wrapping an arm around Hyuna’ shoulders, “I think our work here is done.”  
  
“Oh Honey, we’ve done so well,” Hyuna says laying an open palm on Seongwoo’s chest as she wipes away a fake tear with the other hand, “They grow up so fast. I’m so proud,”  
  
Somi starts to giggle at that, quickly shattering the illusion she’d had going.  
  
Minhyun turns to Jonghyun, “I feel like we’ve potentially just created a monster?”  
  
“A hot monster though,” Jaehwan whispers.  
  
Minhyun turns and frowns, “She’s like five years younger than you, please stop.”  
  
Jaehwan looks like he’s about to protest that in a way that’s probably going to be creepy so Jonghyun responds to Minhyun’s question before things devolve, “Potentially we have,” he says with a fond smile despite himself, “But she’s not our problem to deal with after this.”  
  
“Poor Daehwi,” Minhyun says with fake sympathy as somewhat inexplicably Seongwoo starts to waltz a giggling Somi around the room.  
  
(It doesn’t escape Jonghyun’s notice though despite the silyyness that Seongwoo drags Somi away at the end of the day and tells her very seriously, “Be careful of Ahn. Try to come across strong without being flirtatious about it. It works in some situations but just, try not to do it with him. Ask Woojin for help if you need it.”  
  
Not for the first time Jonghyun wonders even though it’s not his place).  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Jonghyun has been able tell that Jihoon has had something weighing on his mind for a few days now.  
  
That combined with the fact that things have been going too smoothly for the last few weeks probably should have set off alarm bells in his head.   
  
Unfortunately Jonghyun had grown complacent, or at least allowed himself to hope.  
  
It’s why he feels particularly blindsided when Jihoon finally works up the courage to corner Jonghyun one evening, dragging him into the spare room that Sungwoon has been using as his studio (metaphorically of course - Jihoon would never be disrespectful enough to actually drag him unlike some of these kids).  
  
“What’s up?” Jonghyun asks, taking a seat on the only chair in the room not covered in wood chips or ink stains.   
  
“Well, you know, you know how I have this contact at the gallery right?” Jihoon asks him slowly, not taking a seat and instead pacing his way around the rooming, weaving between woodblocks.  
  
“Yes,” Jonghyun says. Everyman and his dog knows about this contact; half the team thinks Jihoon is in love with him.  
  
“Well, the other day we were in the suite with Jinyoung and we saw this footage of Seongwoo arguing with someone? And I don’t know I thought it looked familiar, and then… Then yesterday Jaehwan told me this story about this friend of his but I could have sworn I’d heard the story before…” Jihoon starts to say voice trailing off before he gets to the point.  
  
With a sinking heart Jonghyun can guess where this is going, “Go on.”  
  
“I think that my contact person might be this Kang Daniel?” Jihoon blurts out the words Jonghyun has been expecting but also dreading in a run on sentence. Jihoon sounds uncertain but now the words are out there Jonghyun’s sure they must be true; that’s how their luck is going this job after all.  
  
Jonghyun does the only thing that he possibly can. He bursts into laughter.  
  
“Jonghyun?” Jihoon says sounding confused and slightly worried.  
  
Jonghyun doesn’t blame him and in fact would reassure him, if he could just get this giggling under control.   
  
“Uhh, I think I broke Jonghyun,” Jihoon tells someone who comes into the room, presumably Sungwoon.  
  
“What did you do?” Sungwoon asks with a long suffering sigh.  
  
“I told him the guy that Jonghyun’s told me to look out for, Kang Daniel, I think he’s my contact? And he just lost it,” Jihoon says sounding concerned.  
  
 “Ahh. I think he’s probably laughing so he doesn’t cry,” Sungwoon tells Jihoon seriously.  
  
It’s a little bit like that, but also, “Seongwoo tried to,” Jonghyun manages to explain to Sungwoon through his giggles, “Tried to set Jihoon up with Daniel.”  
  
“Oh, that’s right,” Sungwoon says before he’s laughing as well.  
  
“What? What does that even mean?” Jihoon asks almost stamping his foot in annoyance.  
  
“Seongwoo tried to set you up with his ex,” Sungwoon explains whilst Jonghyun tries to stop laughing, feeling more than a little bit hysterical.  
  
“Euigeon is Daniel? Daniel is Seongwoo’s mystery ex?” Jihoon asks, voice getting high towards the end of that last question (somewhere in the rational part of his mind that’s still switchedJonghyun takes this as confirmation that yes Jihoon’s contact is Daniel. If Daniel’s going by his birth name it also answers Jonghyun’s question of why Jihoon hadn’t realised).  
  
“Yep,” Jonghyun says, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm his laughter. It doesn’t work completely but it helps.  
  
“Well,” Sungwoon says crossing his arms over his chest, “Things were getting a bit calm around here.”  
  
“Shit, Seongwoo is going to murder me,” Jihoon moans burying his head in his hands, which unfortunately just sets Jonghyun off laughing again, “Fuck!”  
  
That just about sums it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sail away　遠くへ　Sail away　遥か遥か遠くへ
> 
> With this chapter I have? passed 100,000 words of Wanna One fic written??? I haven’t published that much obviously because I’m still sitting on the 25K oneshot (trying to decide if I split it and publish the half my beta has finished with already? or just wait her out - tbh im so indecisive? she’ll be edited it all by the time I decide xD) but?? That’s still a fuckload of words for just under 3 months?
> 
> (Will I ever learn to? Use a question mark properly? Unlikely)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After promising for weeks I’m finally back with two chapters in a week, yay? (Honestly I just want to be able to finish this fic before the end of the year? And at the rate I was updating that was never going to happen esp because I'm going to me MIA for a couple of weeks at the beginning of October)
> 
> For some reason with this chapter I kept getting Seongwoo and Jonghyun’s name mixed up? Even though they’re very different names and very different characters? I’ve never had a problem with it before so I have no clue why that was? but I think I caught them all? I hope?

It turns out that Jihoon isn’t just telling Jonghyun about his whole Daniel suspicions because it’s the right thing to do. Rather he has a rather, unrealistic, request of Jonghyun (it makes him wonder how long Jihoon has suspected Euigeon and Daniel were one and the same and if he would have ever told Jonghyun if not for his request).  
  
Instead once Jihoon has managed to stop panicking about the possibility of Seongwoo murdering him, and Jonghyun has sidestepped all questions about this job coincidentally hitting the same casino Seongwoo’s ex works at (not very successfully judging by the look on Sungwoon’s face) Jihoon gets to the point.  
  
“Is it at all possible to push the job back by a day?” he asks, ringing his hands together in a way that conveys nervousness.  
  
Sungwoon, who has mostly been pretending to work on the prints and ignoring them, drops whatever he’s holding.  
  
Jonghyun feels less panic than he expected. He’s not sure if that means he’s adapting better to change or has just gone numb.  
  
“Do I want to know why?” Jonghyun asks. He doesn’t want to know but he probably needs to know.  
  
“Well, it’s related to Euigeon… Daniel, I don’t know what to call him?” Jihoon says looking genuinely confused about it. Of all the things to be conflicted over.  
  
“I think we should stick to Daniel here,” Jonghyun says, to remind them all exactly the stakes they’re dealing with.  
  
“Okay, well,” Jihoon stands right in front of Jonghyun, hands clutched in front of himself; a carefully crafted picture of innocence (he’s good),  “If we push the first job back just a day he’ll have an airtight alibi and I think if we can swing it he deserves that much.”  
  
“Jihoon, why do you care so much?” Jonghyun has to ask. He cares about Daniel, Minhyun and even Jaehwan care about Daniel (Seongwoo obviously cares about Daniel - cares about him too much). Jihoon has met him as a contact he knew he might have to burn. He worries about why he’s so attached. Not just for the job.  
  
“I like him okay, I like him a lot,” Jihoon says with the most emotion that he’s ever showed Jonghyun, “and I don’t want him to go down for our crimes. Whether he’s Seongwoo’s ex or some random stranger who has gone out of his way to help me it doesn’t make a difference.”  
  
“Jihoon,” Jonghyun says slowly, trying to understand where this loyalty has come from (Then again he knows how good Daniel is at inspiring loyalty without even trying).  
  
“I don’t like him like that would every stop assuming,” Jihoon looks well and truly fed up, so much so that Jonghyun almost misses the way he says, quieter, “I don’t like anyone like that.”  
  
He doesn’t comment on any of it. Instead he gets up, opens the door and yells for Minhyun.  
  
Three different heads pop out of different rooms looking at him in varying degrees of confusion. None of them are who he’s looking for so he ignores them, though the way Daehwi looks genuinely concerned is both endearing and amusing.  
  
A few seconds later the drag of Minhyun’s socked feet announce his arrival, “Kim Jonghyun you have a phone you could call me,” he says with a long suffering sigh before he looks up at Jonghyun and his face shifts.  
  
Jonghyun can practically hear the way he’s thinking ‘what’s fucked up this time.?  
  
“Where’s the fun in that?” Jonghyun smiles at him, making sure not to worry the kids that are still eavesdropping.  
  
Minhyun shoots him a glare before following him into the room.  
  
“Is there something wrong with the prints?” Minhyun asks once the door is shut behind them and Jonghyun has taken his previous seat.  
  
“I kind of wish there was,” Jonghyun says because that would be so much easier to deal with, “No offence,” he adds, directing it towards Sungwoon who just inclines his head.  
  
“Oh fuck,” Minhyun leans bangs his head against the wall he’s leaning on, “What’s Seongwoo done?”  
  
“Nothing, this time,” Jonghyun says looking significantly at Jihoon. The whole team has probably picked up on the tension between Minhyun and Seongwoo but that doesn’t mean they need to make it obvious Minhyun doesn’t trust him fully at the moment.  
  
“My contact is your Daniel,” Jihoon blurts out to Minhyun before Jonghyun can think of a way to break it to him softly.  
  
“Well,” Minhyun sighs, though he doesn’t look particularly surprised either, “I guess knowing Daniel worked at the gallery there was a good chance it was going to be him.”  
  
Really, there was a chance statistically, but out of the dozen odd people that worked at the gallery of course Jihoon was going to pick Daniel.  
  
“Well, that doesn’t change much, we just have to be more careful with Jihoon,” Minhyun says looking at Jonghyun like he’s waiting for the over shoe to drop.  
  
“Jihoon has an idea,” Jonghyun tells him, wanting Jihoon to be the one to propose it to Minhyun since Jonghyun doesn’t really have any idea what’s going on here either.  
  
“So, I just. Daniel has helped me so much that someone is bound to have noticed me?” Jihoon starts to say.  
  
“If someone’s noticed you then you haven’t done your job properly,” Sungwoon tells him. His tone of voice is playful but there’s also weight behind his words.  
  
“Well if anyone had any other ideas for how I was supposed to learn about those prints when I knew fuck all about them they probably should have mentioned it about four weeks ago,” Jihoon says stroppily. Potentially that is true, but Jihoon had kept hanging round the gallery longer than he really needed to.  
  
Yet another thing Jonghyun should have been on top of that he let slip through the cracks. He’s made so many mistakes this job and now the team is paying for it.    
  
“Okay, there’s no point in arguing about this now,” Jonghyun says. There’s no point in arguing about it ever, “Just tell us why you think it’s so important to shift the job Jihoon.”  
  
“You know how Ahn has that creepy habit of making his employees be his arm candy?” Jihoon asks Jonghyun, reminding him of that dinner they’d had all those weeks ago (he almost laughs - if only that guy had actually ended up being Daniel that honestly might have made this easier).  
  
“Unfortunately,” Jonghyun says. The guy is sleazy all round and Jonghyun has no qualms about taking him down a peg or two.  
  
“Well, from what I can gather though he never outright said it, Daniel is one of Ahn’s favourite employees to parade around,” Jihoon sounds as disgusted as Jonghyun feels (as Sungwoon and Minhyun probably feel judging by the looks on their faces), “And on Friday night there’s some big event he’s got to be at with Ahn across town. He wouldn’t give me details or anything properly but, it was be an obvious alibi.”  
  
An obvious alibi for Daniel and Ahn would be out of the way.  
  
‘How did we miss that?’ Minhyun mouths at Jonghyun. Jonghyun shrugs, knowing that despite the fact they’d bugged Daniel they didn’t really have the resources to listen in 24/7 (and Daniel might never have mentioned it at home anyway).  
  
“So, you think we should push our entire operation back a day and throw everything off on the off chance that you’re caught or someone suspects you and thinks Daniel was helping you on purpose?” Minhyun asks Jihoon, single eyebrow raised.  
  
Jonghyun knows that Minhyun is just testing Jihoon and is already trying to figure out if it’s at all possible to push things back.  
  
Jihoon wets his lips nervously, taking a seat on an abandoned vanity, before he says, “Well, there’s also the fact that we know where Ahn will be without fail on Friday.”  
  
Minhyun bites back a proud smile, getting the answer he was fishing for.  
  
“He has a point,” Sungwoon speaks up quietly.  
  
Jonghyun nods, “We’re all in agreement then. If it’s possible we should push it back. But is it possible?”  
  
“Well,” Minhyun says as he thinks, fingers tapping against the wall behind him, “We did the dry run just fine,”  
  
“We did the dry run on a Thursday though,” Sungwoon reminds them gently, not shooting them down just pointing out the biggest issue (that he cans see).  
  
“We’ve watched every night though,” Jihoon argues, more committed to this than Jonghyun has seen him about anything, “Weeknights are the same procedure.”  
  
“I don’t think the night we go in is our biggest problem,” Jonghyun says. Usually at this point he’d kick Jihoon out and plan with Minhyun (Sungwoon isn’t necessary but Jonghyun would never kick him out the same way he would one of the kids) but this time he doesn’t. Maybe if there is a lesson in this job it’s that he needs to consult his team more.  
  
“It’s the things we already have lined up for Thursday,” Minhyun finishes for him.  
  
“What things?” Jihoon asks, cocking his head curiously. Jihoon doesn’t exactly know that Seongwoo is being put well out of the way whilst the job goes down, though now he knows about Daniel there’s probably no point keeping it from him.  
  
“Well, Seongwoo’s alibi for one,” Sungwoon says, rolling a paintbrush carelessly between his fingers.  
  
“Seongwoo’s alibi,” Jihoon trails off before Jonghyun can see the lightbulb go off, “This whole thing with the model is so that he’s got a very visible alibi because Daniel is his ex and knows he’s into thieving.”  
  
“Exactly,” Minhyun says. Jihoon is more switched on than he looks, he’s basically an all rounder at this point (Minki’s a sneaky bastard).  
  
“I’m sure Doyeon and Kahi can pull something else together,” Jonghyun says, although he might have half an idea himself, “Our bigger problem is Somi and Daehwi’s meeting.”  
  
“The one where Somi agrees to his deal?” Jihoon asks swinging his legs back and forth kicking the vanity.  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says biting his lip, “It’s too late to reschedule probably,”  
  
“Plus Ahn really hates that,” Jihoon says, reminding Jonghyun that despite how distracted he’s gotten by the prints and Daniel that Jihoon was the one that knows the most about how Ahn’s habits and how he might react.  
  
“Is it the meeting or the agreement that’s the important part?” Sungwoon asks thoughtfully, tapping the paintbrush against the side of his cheek.  
  
“The agreement, probably,” Jonghyun answers. He can guess what Sungwoon’s might be thinking and it’s kind of obvious, he really should have thought of it.  
  
“So, just have her tell him she needs some extra time to think things over, consult with her lawyers or something, then she can call him on Friday and agree,” Sungwoon suggests.  
  
“That’s, a really good idea,” Minhyun says with a smile.  
  
“Don’t sound so shocked about that,” Sungwoon huffs playfully before throwing some weird flat tool he’s been using at Minhyun.  
  
They don’t get much more productive done that meeting, since Jonghyun has to go let the team know of the change in plans as soon as possible, but then again he shouldn’t have expected to.  
  
The last few weeks have felt like a constant rhythm of one step forward six steps back.  
  


* * *

  
  
Surprisingly enough everyone accepts the change in plans with minimal complaining (though Jonghyun can see on Seongwoo’s face that whilst he’s not disrespectful enough to openly dissent is going to complain to Jonghyun in private later).  
  
Perhaps he had managed to completely leave the Daniel component of the reasoning behind and focus more heavily on Ahn being out of the picture but that was neither here nor there. The fact was they accepted it, and now it was going to be a mad scramble of the last few days to get things done.  
  
“You look like you’ve got something on your mind,” Minhyun says to him later that night in their bedroom.  
  
Jonghyun sighs, “I’ve always got something on my mind.”  
  
“That is true,” Minhyun agrees, carding his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair, “But this is your guilty face. The one you wear when you’re conflicted about a plan because you think someone is really not going to like what they have to do.”  
  
“I do not have a guilty face,” Jonghyun protests, though half hearted at best. He truly does have a guilty face.  
  
“You do, to go along with the guilt complex of yours. Not your most attractive qualities I have do say,” Minhyun tugs on his hair, his teasing as light as his grip.  
  
“Please, like you’re not a bleeding heart yourself,” Jonghyun tells him, rolling onto his stomach. Minhyun is as bad as him, he’s just a lot more subtle about trying to fix everyone’s problems.  
  
“How else would I be able to put up with yours?” Minhyun asks, flicking him on the back roughly where Jonghyun assumes his heart would be.  
  
Jonghyun hums, burying his head in his arms and very much wanting to sleep.  
  
Minhyun it seems, is actually set on talking about this, “So, what is your plan for Seongwoo’s alibi and why do you think he’s going to hate it? And furthermore are you actually ever going to tell Seongwoo that Jihoon’s contact is Daniel?”  
  
“I’ll tell him after this part of the plan goes down. On Saturday. We can’t have him distracted and thinking of Daniel for, this anymore that he does usually.” Jonghyun admits with a sigh. He’d resolved to be less secretive with the team but Seongwoo still needed kid gloves at the moment (and maybe he deserves it).  
  
“I take it that means that your idea this thing with Doyeon on Friday is something he’s really not going to like?” Minhyun asks already knowing the answer.  
  
Jonghyun sighs and sits up, “It’s got to be something big, something to top Thursday night which we can’t back out of. But after Thursday what would attract any sort of attention?”  
  
Minhyun is quiet for a few seconds, arriving at the same conclusion as Jonghyun, “He’s going to hate this.”  
  
“I can’t think of anything else,” Jonghyun admits. If he could he would in a heart beat. Considering everything this feels particularly cruel, “but I don’t know if I can go through with asking it of him?”  
  
“Too close to home?” Minhyun mutters, sounding genuinely sympathetic towards Seongwoo as he glances down at where Jonghyun’s hands are clutching the sheets.  
  
“Do you think he still has it?” Jonghyun asks quietly, unable to help himself.  
  
“Without a doubt,” Minhyun answers without a second thought.  
  
“Is it too cruel?” Jonghyun asks, wringing his hands in the bedsheets.  
  
“Probably,” Minhyun says. We don’t have any other options, he doesn’t say, “We could ask Kahi?”  
  
“Do we want her to know something’s up?” Jonghyun asks, of course they can just tell Kahi they moved things around because of Ahn but Kahi is scary perceptive when it comes to them and she’d probably see through them.  
  
“Ask Doyeon then, since this is her area of expertise,” Minhyun suggests with a sigh that Jonghyun feels in his soul, “But honestly? I think Seongwoo is just going to have to do this.”  
  
“I don’t want to hurt him,” Jonghyun admits even though that much is obvious.  
  
“Well, it’s either hurt him or risk him ending up in jail,” Minhyun says what Jonghyun knows is true deep down, “So, I think we’re just going to have to hurt him.”  
  
Jonghyun sighs and leans forward so that his head is resting on Minhyun’s shoulder, “I don’t like it when Seongwoo’s in pain.”  
  
“I know,” Minhyun says patting his back sympathetically, “But look what happened last time you did something to shield Seongwoo from hurt? You shielded him from the consequences of his actions and so we ended up here.”  
  
“You think Seongwoo brought this on himself,” Jonghyun accuses Minhyun. Not that it’s a particularly irrational opinion to have.  
  
“Maybe not this, but his actions were the catalyst of this whole thing,” Minhyun admits. Jonghyun can’t argue with that.  
  
“Doesn’t mean he deserve it,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun sternly, pulling back so he can look him in the eye.  
  
“It doesn’t, he doesn’t,” Minhyun agrees.  
  
“No one does,” Jonghyun says softly.  
  
“No,” Minhyun says before grinning cheekily, “But you know who else doesn’t deserve something?”  
  
“Just taking a wild stab in the dark, but I assume you’re talking about yourself?” Jonghyun says dryly.  
  
“Exactly. I don’t deserve so much of our pillow talk to be about Seongwoo. God knows I love him but not that much,” Minhyun says. He’s trying to keep a straight face but the twinkle in his eye gives him away.  
  
“Is it really pillow talk if we haven’t had sex?” Jonghyun asks curiously.  
  
“Well,” Minhyun says with a little leer. Jonghyun pretty much walked straight into that one.  
  
“Okay, let me go get Seongwoo first,” He says just to see the way Minhyun’s eyes narrow before he’s being tackled backwards onto the bed, giggling the whole way.  
  
“No,” Minhyun says, almost growling.  
  
“No?” Jonghyun asks through his giggles.  
  
“If you mention Seongwoo one more time I’m kicking you out of our marital bed,” Minhyun warns.  
  
“I’m sure, someone, would be more than willing to take me in,” Jonghyun says just to see the way Minhyun’s eyes flash possessively.    
  
 Then before he actually sets Minhyun off he reaches up to drag Minhyun down for a kiss.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Despite the late minute adjustments things proceed full steam ahead, the changes in plan going down with only the smallest of hiccups (so late in the game it was the best Jonghyun could have hoped for).  
  
Then after months of planning it’s upon them, the second most important day of this job.  
  
There’s always something nauseously nerve wracking about the big day (and this plan has two) something that makes Jonghyun twitchy with nervous energy.  
  
If he didn’t have Minhyun by his side most of the day, grounding him physically and emotionally, he probably would float out of his skin.  
  
As it is he just worries, goes over his plan in his head a hundred times to make sure there’s not any little detail that he’s missed that could derail the entire job. Tries his best not to show how nervous he feels because that will make his team think he doesn’t trust them or that there’s reason to be nervous.  
  
Night jobs like this one are always the hardest. The nervousness simmers all day just below the surface, no matter how many reassuring smiles Minhyun sends him or how many times Seongwoo scoffs and rolls his eyes, telling him he’d overthink taking a shit if given the time.  
  
At least today he has a few things to get done before evening hits.  
  
Like talk Somi through her phone call with Ahn.  
  
“I mean, theoretically it should be easier over the phone right?” She says to Seongwoo who she has seemingly taken a shine to much to everyone’s amusement (Seongwoo is a great mentor though - behind the jokes and the ego he truly cares).  
  
“Theoretically,” Seongwoo agrees.  
  
“But like, I don’t know it just seems harder? More nervous,” She admits, wringing her hands together.  
  
It’s cute how eager she is, Jonghyun thinks from where he’s sitting on the other side of the room, Minhyun sleeping in his lap.  
  
“Probably because you don’t have Daehwi by your side and you can’t see how he’s reacting,” Seongwoo reassures her, before adding with a smile, “But you’ve got me and I’m twenty times better than Daehwi anyway.”  
  
“I don’t think I would go that far,” She tells him matter of factly. Jonghyun has to laugh at the betrayed look on Seongwoo’s face.  
  
They’re the only ones up and about in the house at the moment. Jaehwan is off creating another power outage, whilst Woojin is working and Jinyoung is probably glued to his computer. Everyone else is taking the opportunity to sleep in knowing that they’ll be awake for most of the night.  
  
Jonghyun wishes he had the luxury.  
  
“I saw you on the television last night,” Somi says to Seongwoo out of the blue; a clear procrastination technique.  
  
Seongwoo tenses but Somi either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care because she continues on, “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend? If I had to guess I’d have been sure it was Hyuna but your actual girlfriend is just as hot so like, you’re super lucky.”  
  
It’s nervous babbling, anyone can tell, which is probably the only reason Seongwoo smiles and tries to answer as civilly as possible, “Doyeon is very pretty but she’s not my girlfriend.”  
  
“Really?” Somi asks sounding both skeptical and interested.  
  
“It’s for the job,” Jonghyun clarifies for her, saving Seongwoo’s ass.  
  
“Huh, don’t you guys want to be inconspicuous? Go under the radar, not you know…” She waves her hand around vaguely since they all know what she’s talking about.  
  
“Ah see it depends,” Seongwoo says animatedly, seizing on the chance to escape talk of his love life and impart his knowledge, “Sometimes being conspicuous is the best option because who expects a celebrity or a model or a famous acrobat,” he gives Somi a pointed look that makes her giggle, “To be behind a large scale heist?”  
  
“No one,” Somi says with a nod of her head, “That’s clever.”  
  
“It’s a balancing act. Obviously Seongwoo is right that it makes you an unlikely suspect, but we can’t all do that because people document famous people or at least recognise them. There’s no way they can pretend to be someone else without a huge risk, or even go somewhere without anyone noticing,” Jonghyun explains, wondering as Somi listens with rapt attention whether she’s ever going to simply return to life as an acrobat now.  
  
He wouldn’t put money on it; he just hopes she makes better choices than Daehwi did the first time around.  
  
“But, you’re stalling,” Seongwoo tells Somi attracting her attention back to him by tapping her on the knee, “So, you have a phone call to make.”  
  
“Can, you talk me through it one more time?” She asks him in a small voice, looking nervous again all of a sudden.  
  
“Sure,” Seongwoo nods with that reassuring smile of his that Jonghyun has seen him put years of practice into, “All you need to do is tell Ahn that you appreciate his offer and you’re interested but you need to make sure that you’re not burned, mention your current contract which I’m sure is pretty binding. Make him think you want to agree without actually agreeing straight out.”  
  
They’ve all given her more detailed instructions before. She was well aware of the talking points because they were meant to be conveyed in yesterday’s face to face meeting. Seongwoo’s just hitting the important points, giving her reassurance more than advice.  
  
“Right,” Somi trails off with a nod.  
  
“If you’re really stuck on how to respond,” Jonghyun offers because Seongwoo sometimes forgets not everyone knows the simple tricks, “Just repeat what he’s said to you, it gives you time to think and we can prompt you if necessary.”  
  
“Okay, I can do it,” she says sounding the opposite of confident.  
  
“You can do it,” Seongwoo agrees with her sounding like he actually believes it as he puts the phone in her hand, “I believe in you.”  
  
  


* * *

  
  
With Seongwoo’s coaching Somi’s phone call goes off exactly as planned, the success making her a hyper ball of energy. For the rest of the morning she trails Seongwoo around asking him question’s about exactly what he does (playing pretend and making out with hot girls - in her words) before she has to leave for her actual job.  
  
The rest of the afternoon is spent running over last minute details and preparing for the second part of the plan; once tonight goes ahead there’s no backing out and they’ve got to move quickly. They can’t be pushing anything else back.  
  
Jonghyun just really hopes that the fact so much has gone wrong so far means the rest of the plan will be smooth sailing; That the terrible dress rehearsal means they’ll have a great opening night.  
  
By late afternoon most of the team have woken up and dispersed to their positions, ready to put their plan into action.  
  
By late afternoon Jonghyun’s nerves have reached boiling point.  
  
By late afternoon Seongwoo has changed into his alias’ clothes, waiting for Doyeon to come over, and is pouting.  
  
“You’d think we were asking him to legally marry her or something,” Minhyun mutters to Jonghyun under his breath as they watch him pacing.  
  
“No I’m pretty sure he would just flat out refuse to do that,” Jonghyun says in amusement before they’re interrupted by the arrival of Seonho and Guanlin - bickering as usual.  
  
“Jonghyun,” Seonho says with a pout holding up some twisted wires, “Help? Guanlin can’t do it right.”  
  
“If you’d only have stayed still,” Guanlin mutters in defence of himself, fingering the tiny buttons on his own collar.  
  
“We all know Seonho has problems with that,” Seongwoo calls out, teasing others to take his mind off his own problems.  
  
Jonghyun sighs, “Oh give them here,” he says going over to Seonho and firstly untangling the wires as Seonho and Guanlin argue about whose fault it is.  
  
Guanlin is right, Seonho fidgets so much as Jonghyun tries to place them on Seonho’s collar that he gives up, “Alright kiddo you are going to have to wear one of the caps.” Jonghyun tells him.  
  
“No,” Seonho says, gasping in horror, “but those things are ugly.”  
  
“So they match you,” Guanlin says, ducking behind Jonghyun with a laugh as Seonho tries to smack him.  
  
“Hat Seonho,” Jonghyun says as he puts the wires away, “Since I think you’ve broken the wires in these ones anyway.”  
  
“Guanlin broke the wires,” Seonho pouts as Minhyun throws Jonghyun one of the hats Jinyoung had brought over the other day.  
  
“Did not,” Guanlin says laughing as Jonghyun jams the cap down on Seonho’s head. He does look kind of ridiculous, but not ridiculous enough to draw any attention. Not in Vegas at least.  
  
“Right, there you are good to go,” Jonghyun says, tapping the bridge of Seonho’s cap as he glares at him, “Now behave or I’ll tell Jinyoung you broke the wires.”  
  
“Fine,” Seonho grumbles with a pout before he inexplicably hugs Jonghyun.  
  
“You right Seonho?” He asks, eyebrow raised. Seonho’s open with his affection but unless it comes to Minhyun or Guanlin it’s usually not quite so spontaneous.  
  
“We finally get to do something,” Seonho cheers pumping a fist in the air.  
  
“Well there are lots of things you should have done already,” Jonghyun tells him though he’s mostly teasing; the chicks have done a lot but it’s mostly been set up - nothing close to the action.  
  
It’s alright though, their time will come.  
  
“Yeah, yeah it’s not the same,” Seonho waves him away as Guanlin finally steps out from behind Jonghyun.  
  
“Alright, well you two need to go help Sungwoon stack the van,” Jonghyun tells them with a pointed look at his watch.  
  
Seonho glances at his own wrist before realising he doesn’t have a watch on and grabbing Jonghyun’s to look. Jonghyun tries not to laugh as Seonho gasps, “we’re so late,” he says grabbing Guanlin’s shoulder and bodily dragging him away (Guanlin offering no resistance).  
  
Jonghyun shakes his head with a smile as the two of them rush off down the hall towards Sungwoon’s workshop.  
  
Jonghyun’s missed half their conversation as he was helping the chicks with their wardrobe malfunction, but as he turns back towards Seongwoo and Minhyun he frowns.  
  
Seongwoo has sat himself in Minhyun’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and pouting.  
  
Jonghyun breathes a sigh of relief when Minhyun laughs instead of pushing him off, “You have no one to blame for this but yourself.” Minhyun reminds him.  
  
“It’s not fair,” Seongwoo whines again, burying his head in Minhyun’s chest.  
  
“Life’s not fair darling,” Minhyun coos condescendingly. Despite his words Jonghyun doesn’t miss the way he’s rubbing comforting circles on Seongwoo’s back.  
  
“I know it’s my fault,” Seongwoo says so quietly that Jonghyun has to strain to hear, “But, it feels too much.”  
  
“I know,” Minhyun says, tone genuinely sympathetic, “I know, there’s not another way.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Seongwoo says to Minhyun. He’s probably sorry for a lot, but the fact he’s saying it is kind of mind blowing.  
  
Minhyun thinks the same if the way he starts and asks, “For what?” is anything to go bye.  
  
“I thought, that maybe you were suggesting this to hurt me,” Seongwoo admits looking at Jonghyun instead of Minhyun, “But that wasn’t fair of me.”  
  
Minhyun also meets Jonghyun’s eyes before rolling his own. Jonghyun gets it, how frustrating it is that Seongwoo can apologise for small things like this but not huge things that actually matter.  
  
“Oh, has Seongwoo moved from trying to get in Jonghyun’s pants to trying to get into Minhyun’s pants now?” Jaehwan laughs obnoxiously coming into the room.  
  
All three of them ignore him, though Seongwoo does slide off of Minhyun’s lap and onto the couch next to him,  
  
“I take it the power has been tripped and reset?” Jonghyun asks Jaehwan.  
  
“Yep,” Jaehwan says sitting down on the other side of Minhyun and kicking his feet up on the table, pointedly ignoring the glare Minhyun sends him.  
  
“I will trip your power,” Minhyun uses his own foot to kick Jaehwan’s foot down.  
  
Jaehwan looks like he’s going to comment on how lame the comeback was (not one of Minhyun’s best) but the noise of the chicks running down the hallway, Seonho still with his baseball cap pulled down, drowns out whatever he would have said.  
  
“What a cap,” Minhyun comments as Seonho disappears around the corner.  
  
Jonghyun is at least 80% sure Minhyun had a hand in picking the gaudy orange caps when regular dark ones would have worked.  
  
Sungwoon follows behind then a few seconds later, the light catching on what looks like fake diamantés on the collar of his shirt.  
  
“Hey, on the plus side,” Jonghyun tells Seongwoo running his fingers through his hair, “At least you won’t have to run around looking like a fool like the rest of these kids will.”  
  
“I think I probably could have pulled it off,” Seongwoo pouts, though the corner of his mouth is twitching like it does when he’s trying not to laugh.  
  
“Yes, yes you can pull anything off,” Minhyun parrots the words they’ve heard from Seongwoo thousands of times before with a roll of his eyes.  
  
The clack of high heels on the tiles announces Doyeon’s approach.  
  
It’s remarkable to watch the change in Seongwoo, the way he sits up straight and schools his face out of the ridiculous pout he’s been wearing for the last few minutes.  
  
The Seongwoo in his place is a  picture of cold respectability. No matter how many times Jonghyun watches Seongwoo change his entire disposition so quickly it never gets any less odd.  
  
“I guess we better get this show on the road,” Doyeon says looking bored as she walks into the room.  
  
Like Seongwoo though there’s something Jonghyun can’t put his finger on that gives her away; she wants to be doing this no more than Jonghyun does.  
  
(Presumably she’s not acting like as much of a baby as Seongwoo; but he doesn’t know how she acts with Yoojung behind closed doors).  
  
“If we have to,” Seongwoo sighs looking at Jonghyun pitifully as he slowly climbs to his feet.  
  
Doyeon eyes him up and down, “Your pants are crumpled,” she points out quietly.  
  
“I thought, with what we were going for, it’d add something,” Seongwoo retorts. That’s a lie; he’d just spent most of his time after getting changed rolling around on Minhyun. Doyeon doesn’t bother questioning it.  
  
“Have you got it?” Doyeon asks as Seongwoo fiddles with his jacket pocket nervously.  
  
“Yeah,” Seongwoo answers. They’re so awkward together it’s painful. It doesn’t matter though, not really, because if last night is anything to go by they’re going to put on a hell of a show.  
  
“Go,” Jonghyun orders him feeling slightly fed up with his theatrics and stalling techniques (and then he feels bad about being fed up because they’re asking something rather tough of him).  
  
“Yes sir,” Seongwoo dips his head, apparently having sensed Jonghyun’s annoyance, “See you on the other side,” he says wiggling his fingers uncharacteristically.  
  
“Good luck,” Jonghyun calls as Doyeon grabs Seongwoo by the hand and basically drags him out.  
  
“Congratulations,” Jaehwan calls. Minhyun smacks him in the back of the head as Jonghyun had very much wanted to do himself.  
  
“Shut up,” Jonghyun whispers because whilst Jaehwan doesn’t mean ill he sometimes doesn’t know where to stop.  
  
“Well,” Minhyun says stretching up so he can grab Jonghyun’s arm and pull him down onto the couch next to him, “We’re well and truly under way now.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun agrees, curling into Minhyun’s side and closing his eyes; he’s so exhausted perhaps he can just nap for the next four hours as they wait for the gallery to close.  
  
“There’s no going back now.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this the first time I’ve updated whilst the sun is still up? (rather than as the sun is rising) I think it might be xD
> 
> Okay but why is Daniel running round Kcon Oz with a shirt that looks like it’s blood stained, and why does my stupid muse wanna turn this into a fic?


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, ended up angstier/sadder and longer (the longest chapter of the fic so far actually) than I meant it to be but that’s the story of my life at this point.
> 
> The chapter is really Different but also I had a lot of fun with it? But also I’m super nervous about how it’s gonna go since there’s a lot of introspective moping? *shrugs* Oh well here goes nothing?

  
Send Message?

 **To: Daniel**  
I’m so sorry

…

**Draft Deleted**

* * *

 

The first thing that Daniel sees when he gets up on Friday morning is his ex-boyfriend making out with a famous model splashed across the tv screen.

He probably should have recognised it was a sign of the way his day was going to turn out.

When he wanders out of his room way earlier than he really needs to be up he thinks he’s dreaming. Why else would Seongwoo be making out with the model Yeonjung has developed a bit of a crush on recently. After all Yeonjung had been showing him Kim Doyeon’s latest photoshoot yesterday evening and he’s had Seongwoo on his mind (more than usual) since he showed up unceremoniously the other week.

Unfortunately, the way Jisung flinches from his spot on the couch and changes the channel as soon as he spots Daniel means it’s probably real and not a nightmare.

“Don’t change the channel on my account,” Daniel tells him wondering if the hollow feeling in his chest might possibly just be because he’s still half asleep.

“No it’s fine, I was going to change it. Who has time for that celebrity gossip shit anyway?” Jisung says like he doesn’t eat that shit up.

“You,” Daniel tells him eyebrow raised as he jumps over the back of the couch to sit next to Jisung, “You always say and I quote ‘it makes you feel better about the state of your life’.”

There’s an awkward silence, one Daniel would usually fill with inane chatter or laughter. He can’t bring himself to muster either. “Change it back,” He tells Jisung.

There’s another long silence before Jisung does so, though not without an appraising look at Daniel. It’d make him uncomfortable if Jisung hadn’t spent the better part of the last year looking at him like that.

Daniel ignores him and instead glues his eyes to the television screen where they’re still talking about Seongwoo and Doyeon, playing footage of them making out on some red carpet from more angles than he thought possible.

Some part of him that he’s tried to bury just wants to see Seongwoo’s face; another part of him is watching purely out of some sort of masochistic tendancies.

He’s been off balance ever since he saw Seongwoo at the casino and everyone he sees on a daily basis has noticed. His work mates had commented on it, Chungha had threatened bodily harm to the ‘mystery ex’ assuming it had something to do with him and Yeonjung had actually treated him to a meal for once. Only Jisung knew why he’d been so on edge though. Only Jisung had been following him with suffocatingly sympathetic eyes for the last two weeks.

As Daniel watches the report he let’s himself think about what Seongwoo’s presence here in Las Vegas means.

Maybe, like he’d claimed it was a complete coincidence he happened to be staying in the hotel Daniel worked at. Maybe he was here for another job that had nothing to do with Daniel.

Daniel didn’t quite believe that because one thing he’d learned about Seongwoo over the years, even if everything else had been a lie, was that nothing he did was ever without reason. No matter how spontaneous he seemed everything he did had a great deal of calculated thought behind it.

There was still the possibility the universe was playing a practical joke on him and this was a huge coincidence. Seongwoo had looked surprised to see him at the very least.

Maybe he’s giving himself too much importance. Maybe Seongwoo doesn’t care enough about him to track him down. The twelve months of radio silence on his end was surely telling of that.

The part of him that had wanted Seongwoo to care enough to track him down and explain himself - that still hopes this will all turn out to be a misunderstanding - shrivels just a little smaller. He’s not sure it will ever die.

Daniel doesn’t know what to think about any of it. He doesn’t know what to feel about it. All he knows is he wishes Seongwoo had never shown his face in this town.

Finally after a torturously long time the story moves onto something about a Kardashian.

“He said he was in Vegas for a job right?” Jisung finally speaks looking at Daniel with those sympathetic eyes of his that are weightier than is comfortable, “This is probably just that.”

“I don’t care,” Daniel says even though they both know he cares.

“I’m sure it’s for a job,” Jisung nods in confirmation, “And hey at least it’s got nothing to do with you like he said. That’s good.”

“I don’t care,” Daniel repeats, hoping if he says it enough then it’ll become true, “Seongwoo can make out with whatever models he wants. It’s his life.”

“Daniel,” Jisung says firmer this time, “Be honest.”

“I am being honest. I left Seongwoo I have no, anything over him anymore. He can do whatever he wants, he always did anyway. I shouldn’t care,”

“Shouldn’t and don’t are not the same thing,” Jisung tells him with eyes that are way too knowing.

The worst thing about living with Jisung is that he knows. He knows every detail of Daniel’s relationship and break up and broken heart. He meddles and tries to get Daniel to move on or talk about his feelings or reach out to Seongwoo for closure. Whilst he’s probably right that Daniel has to stop ignore it Daniel doesn’t want to stop ignoring it. Not yet.

Probably not ever.

“I told Yongguk I’d call him today,” Daniel says getting off the couch because he needs to get away from Jisung. Or get away from the conversation Jisung is insisting on having right now.

“You called him on the weekend,” Jisung says with a disapproving look.

“He has my children Jisung,” Daniel says as dramatically as possible in an effort to distract Jisung, “I can check on the welfare of my children as often as I want.”

“They’re cats Kang Daniel,” Jisung look disapproving for an entirely different reason this time.

“They’re my children,” Daniel insists stubbornly, “I love them more than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone else on the planet.”

Jisung looks like he might bring Seongwoo up again but thankfully he doesn’t, he just snorts, “I know you don’t mean than when I exist.”

Daniel laughs, relieved that Jisung isn’t going to push the issue, “Believe whatever you want, I have children to Skype,” Daniel says before returning to his room.

“It’s 2am in Tokyo,” Jisung calls back to Daniel before he gets the chance to shut the door.

Daniel laughs again but doesn’t respond. Since Yongguk moved to Tokyo he insists this is the time that’s most convenient for him on weekends for whatever reason. Daniel doesn’t know what he does, and he doesn’t question it.

After all Yongguk agreed to take his cats for him when he essentially fled Korea, no questions asked no conditions offered. Daniel appreciates it; a lot.

He spends the next 40 minutes talking to Yongguk about the cats. Whilst a slightly reticent person Yongguk will talk about cats, his own and Daniel’s, for hours before Daniel reluctantly has to cut him off to get ready for work.

When he emerges back into the common area, dressed for a day on the job Jisung is in the kitchen head buried in the fridge, “So I assume I’m not going to see you tonight before you go out?”

“Uhh,” Daniel says, thinking about it. Friday nights are Jisung’s late nights at work, “No I guess not?”

“Well, remember to eat and drink water before you go out, and be careful,” Jisung says waving a water bottle in Daniel’s direction. He gave up trying to get Daniel to eat breakfast before work a long time ago.

“Yes mum,” Daniel rolls his eyes as he takes the water bottle from Jisung and heads for the front door.

“Don’t party too hard,” Jisung calls after him playfully.

“With Ahn? Unlikely,” Daniel returns with a laugh. Though being drunk would probably make dealing with Ahn easier he doesn’t ever want to let his wits down around the man.

Jisung’s mouth twists in that unfortunate way it does whenever Daniel shows how uncomfortable Ahn makes him. Jisung feels responsible for it, it’s the entire reason he followed Daniel to Vegas to keep an eye on him. Jisung feels responsible for it which is just stupid.

It’s not Jisung’s fault Daniel ended up in this situation.

He can’t hope to ever receive an apology from him though. Miracles don’t happen.

 

* * *

 

  
**Chungha [11:01]**  
If I never have to hear Kim Doyeon’s name again it’ll be too soon.  
Are you sure you don’t want to swap roommates?

 

 **Daniel [11:03]**  
She can’t be that bad.  
It’s just a celebrity crush.

 **Chungha [11:04]**  
She has a mural to Doyeon pinned on her cork board.  
It’s been 12 hours since she debuted with this new man.  
Yeonjung knows everything

 

 **Daniel [11:04]**  
Everything?

 **Chungha [11:06]**  
His name is Seongwoo  
His birthday is August 25th  
He just got out of a serious seven year relationship  
He was born in Incheon  
He’s “never loved anyone as much as he loves her”  
Also, this will be your fave, he hates cats.

 **Chungha [11:09]**  
Don’t ask me how she knows any of this  
I don’t think I want to know

 **Chungha [11:32]**  
Daniel?

 

* * *

 

  
“Euigeon,” Cao Lu his supervisor calls out when he clocks his timesheet in, only ten minutes late to the start of his shift today, “You’re late.”

“Only ten minutes,” Daniel tells her with a winning smile, hoping this is one of the mornings she’ll drop it. He can never tell

“Yeah,” Minseok says from where he’s passing behind Daniel, picture frame tucked under his arm, “In Daniel time that’s like five minutes early.”

“Yeah yeah, you’re lucky you’re cute,” Cao Lu tells him with a fond roll of her eyes, clearly she’s in a good mood and not going to push it today.

Daniel might have never shown it, but he knows at first she had resented the fact that he’d been hired; she’d not hidden the fact she thought Ahn was playing favourites. Daniel likes to think she’s grown fond of him though over the last year.

“I am the cutest,” Daniel laughs fluttering his eyelashes at her.

“I see how it is,” Minseok pipes up from the back of the room, “Some of us got here on talent and hard work but Daniel’s only useful because of his face.”

“That’s not true,” Chaeyeon interjects up in her soft spoken voice, “We also needed someone tall around here to be able to reach the top shelves of the storeroom.”

“Hey,” Minseok says with a frown even though he’s clearly joking, “Watch it intern if you want to stay an intern.”

Chaeyeon giggles since she knows Minseok doesn’t have the authority to fire her (and never would anyway).

“You asked me three times yesterday to help you reach the top shelf of the storeroom,” Daniel tells Minseok with a cheerful grin, ducking behind Cao Lu with a giggle of his own when Minseok takes a threatening step towards him even though he’s across the other side of the room.

“Alright children, I’m sure you have work to be doing” Cao Lu says with a long suffering sigh that’s undermined by the way she’s grinning, “Daniel you’re on backroom duty today.”

Daniel pouts because he hates backroom duty, he much prefers being out in the gallery sharing his passion and knowledge with the handful of people that come in to actually appreciate it. Sure most people are just there to waste time or to say they saw the collection but every now and then someone like Jihoon or Chaeyeon will come in; people who are really interested to learn about the history of the prints.

That’s the part of this job that makes it worth it; it’s why Daniel hasn’t thrown in the towel and gotten an office job or something.

“But my face is wasted in the backroom,” He says facing Cao Lu.

“Good think we have Minseok’s face then,” she tells him dryly as Daniel ignores the triumphant smile Minseok is shooting at him; it’s all fun and games really.

“The things in the backroom to be worked on today are stored up high today, aren’t they?” he says as if he’s come to a realisation or something, “I’m the only one that can do it.”

“Justify it whichever way you want,” Minseok tells him with an airy wave, hoisting the frame he’s still carrying up higher in his arms, “But just know Chaeyeon and I will be out in the nice air conditioned gallery sharing the knowledge because our visuals are superior to yours.”

Then he laughs as he ducks away.

“Ahn’s got a new print in,” Cao Lu explains to him one Minseok is gone and Chayeon has disappeared as well (she has a habit of coming and going silently that Daniel honestly finds unnerving), “So I want you to evaluate it before we hang it.”

“You think it might be fake?” He asks, eyebrow raised.

Cao Lu elbows him in the side looking around as if she expects someone to be listening in despite the fact they’re in the office.

“Maybe,” She confesses eventually. No one that works in the gallery really trusts Ahn (Daniel would be surprised if anyone trusted him).

Daniel nods - it’s not the first time she’s asked him to do this. He’s never noticed them getting a new fake print before but he has suspicions about some of the ones already in the gallery; ones he doesn’t look at too closely for that very reason.

There’s not really anything he could do if he found fakes after all. He needs this job.

“Okay,” He agrees quietly.

“Sihyun is coming in this afternoon since she’s closing so when she gets in if you’re finished evaluating the print I’ll switch you out front. I just figured, since you were working so late tonight you might want some time to yourself this morning,” She explains.

It’s a considerate notion but the last thing Daniel needs is time to get lost in his own head any more than usual. It’s a lot harder to forget everything when he’s out the front with guests, surrounded by the prints he loves.

He doesn’t tell her that because she’s his boss and she doesn’t know his history. Instead he just smiles in thanks before going to the backroom to set himself up.

Already he can tell it’s going to feel like long day.

(For the first time whilst examining the print Daniel isn’t positive of it’s authenticity. He stops looking then; if he stops looking then he can’t be disappointed. A lesson he’s recently learned).

  

* * *

 

 **Sewoon [13:06]**  
Hey you’ve got that thing with Ahn this evening right?

 

 **Daniel [13:06]**  
Unfortunately  
Why?

 **Sewoon [13:07]**  
I had to swap shifts with Yeonjung.  
She’s at the lounge I’m at the Echelon now.

 **Daniel [13:07]**  
That’s Rough Buddy

 **Sewoon [13:07]**  
Euigeon  
I was going to offer you a lift…  
But if you’re just going to offer me memes.

  
**Daniel [13:08]**  
Yes please!  
I’m sorry I’ll never meme again  
This is why you’re my favourite person on the planet

 **Sewoon [13:10]**  
Don’t you forget it ;).

 

* * *

 

  
Daniel’s day doesn’t get much better as the afternoon goes on. He manages to break the frame of one of the prints they’ve got in the backroom for restoration, spill a bottle of water on some of their tools and make a little girl cry all before the end of his shift.

It’s exhausting and the day’s not going to get any better.

As soon as his shift is finished he lets himself flop onto the single couch they keep in the staff room off the back of the backroom. He has to muster the energy to get himself home in order to get changed into his suit and then return to the hotel to meet Ahn.

He really should have brought his suit with him this morning but he’d been flustered and out of sorts all morning because of Seongwoo. It’s odd that Jisung hadn’t reminded him but maybe he was making some sort of convoluted point.

Daniel can hear the sound of someone approaching so he raises his head, not surprised to see it’s Minseok even though his shift finished an hour ago.

“Come on Kid,” Minseok says laying a hand on his elbow and hauling him to his feet, “Let’s go get you cleaned up for tonight,”

“Do I have to?” Daniel pouts hoping that maybe if he looks cute enough Minseok will go in his place, “Are you sure you don’t want to go instead?”

“No,” Minseok shakes his head firmly, “I did the last three, it’s your turn.”

It’s true. Whilst Ahn likes to use all kinds of different employees from the hotel as arm candy for various events for some reason he prefers to take the gallery staff.

Cao Lu says it’s because she clearly has the best team in the complex but they all know it’s not that. Minseok speculates that they make him seem more cultured.

Daniel just thinks that Ahn likes to put the people he wants to keep an eye on in the gallery for whatever reason. Maybe it’s bugged or the cameras are better in here.

“Okay,” Daniel sighs. He hates these evenings with Ahn but he’s dreading this one more than usual but he can’t put his finger on exactly why.

Soon he notices that Minseok is leading him not towards the exit of the hotel but the lifts that’ll take them to the rooms reserved as staff rooms, “Where are we going?”

“To my room,” Minseok tells him shortly.

“Why?” Daniel asks thoroughly confused.

“Well because you need to be presentable for this thing tonight and everything you touch turns into a mess,” Minseok looks at him significantly, having expressed his dismay at Daniel’s usual messy habits more times than Daniel can count (if only he knew that not long ago Daniel was worse).

“That’s not true!” Daniel protests with a laugh even though it’s kind of true.

“I was in the storeroom this morning and you left it a mess after closing up last night,” Minseok tells him with an annoyed little glare, though there’s really no heat behind it, “So don’t even try it.”

“Hey,” Daniel says grasping at the front of his shirt in mock affront.

“You didn’t even need to put anything away last night, I don’t know how you do it,” Minseok says with a sad shake of his head.

“How do you know it was me?” Daniel asks as innocently as he can manage even though it was definitely him.

“You were the only person closing last night, you were the person to lock up. I was the second last person to leave and it was clean when I left,” Minseok explains patiently. He wouldn’t usually bother with an explanation when they both know it was Daniel but he’s trying to distract Daniel from the upcoming evening.

Daniel appreciates it, even if it doesn’t particularly work.

“Guilty,” Daniel concedes as Minseok lets them both into his suite. All the staff are offered cheap rent in one of the wings of the hotel. They call it an employment perk but it’s probably just another way for Ahn to keep his staff even reliant on him and his company.

Daniel had never considered taking up the offer, even if Jisung hadn’t followed him. He’d have rather paid out his nose and roomed alone than lived under Ahn’s thumb.

“Well, Jisung told me that you needed a new suit so here we go,” Minseok says, showing Daniel a neatly pressed suit that’s hanging on his wardrobe door.

“My suit was fine,” Daniel says, trying not to feel warm at how much they both care about him.

“A mess,” Minseok repeats, hanging the suit to Daniel and directing him towards the bathroom.

It takes Daniel a little over half an hour to get ready with Minseok’s help when he insists on making Daniel style his hair this time; more effort than Daniel has ever gone to himself.

“Ahn’s a bit touchy tonight. From what I heard from Sehun who heard it from one of the blackjack dealers he’s pulled off a negotiation that he’s been gunning for in regards to that acrobatics show he wants to put on? So he’s in that arrogant mood where every little thing annoys him,” Minseok explains.

Daniel knows the mood very well; when Ahn’s more of a stickler to detail than usual because he’s hyperaware of his sense of self importance.

It’s not as volatile as an angry or disappointed or frustrated Ahn, but it’s still one of his trickier moods to deal with.

“Thank you for the heads up,” Daniel says, bowing his head as he lets Minseok fuss with the collar of his suit.

“Don’t mention it,” Minseok says straightening everything up for him before standing back and running his eyes over Daniel, “There we go, you look charming enough that you’ll catch all the eyes like Ahn wants, but not so much that you’ll catch Ahn’s eye. Anymore than usual.”

“Thanks,” Daniel says with a laugh that’s as uncomfortable as he feels (at the prospect of being Ahn’s date all evening not at being in Minseok’s apartment).

Minseok forces Daniel to eat after that, muttering about how he forgot how messy Daniel was and he should have made him eat before getting dressed the entire time (Which makes no sense it’s all he’s been teasing Daniel over for the last hour). He keeps conversation light, distracting Daniel as best he can.

Minseok’s good at keeping people cheerful, Daniel decides, laughing at Minseok’s impression of his latest boyfriend so hard that he almost chokes on his drink.

“Okay, no putting it off any longer,” Minseok sighs with a glance at his watch once they’ve finished eating.

Daniel puts up token protest but knows there’s nothing he can do - not unless he gets himself admitted to hospital (with facial injuries or something contagious. Something that would make him more trouble to Ahn than he’s worth).

“Wish me luck,” Daniel says with a forced laugh and smile as Minseok walks him down to Ahn’s office.

“Good luck. Text me if you need to,” Minseok tells him with a significant look, “And text me when you’re done for the night. So I know you’re safe.”

It’s a routine Minseok has insisted on ever since the incident with Justin a few months ago.

“I will,” Daniel says shooting Minseok a thumbs up and a nervous smile.

Then he knocks.

 

* * *

 

   
**Jihoon [19:51]**  
Good luck tonight!!!  
You’ll probably need it.

 

 **Daniel [20:01]**  
I need a lot more than luck.

 **Jihoon [20:04]**  
After all this is over I’ll buy you a drink.  
You’ve more than earned it.

* * *

 

  
The night goes pretty much as Daniel expected it to, nothing overwhelmingly unusual.

He would almost call it monotonous except that word doesn’t come close to summing up how unpleasant the experience is. No matter how many times he’s forced to do this the uneasy feeling as he’s paraded around on Ahn’s arm for the first few hours, like a sleazy form of arm candy, never lessens.

It’s not until Ahn grows tired of him, a couple of hours into the evening that he feels like he can breathe again. He’s left to his own devices as Ahn tries to flirt with whoever’s caught his eye (A young girl tonight - Daniel hopes she can hold her own).

Daniel retreats to one of the tables at the back of the room, hoping he can go under the radar for the rest of the evening but doubting it. When left to his own devices he’s usually approached by brave girls (and sometimes boys) who think he’s someone because he came in with Ahn.

Usually they leave quickly when they realise he’s no one special.

It’s the fourth girl that approaches him that leaves an impact.

“You look like you could use some company,” She says, sliding into the seat next to him. He startles, having been refreshing his Instagram feed, the handful of friends he has in this country all having more enjoyable nights than him. Not even Minseok is responding to his messages at this point, probably distracted by that boyfriend of his.

He laughs awkwardly because he has no idea what to do as he slides the phone back into his pocket.

“Umm, I’m alright,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck and wondering if he sounds as awkward as he feels (he probably sounds more awkward).

“Nonsense, no one should sit alone at a fancy party,” She tells him with a wink. He feels out of his depth.

“I, I don’t… I’m not..” He starts to say because he doesn’t want to make presumptions but most of these girls all want one thing from him.

“Me neither,” She winks.

“Sorry, not to presume,” he says with another awkward laugh wondering when she’s going to get up and leave because he’s driven her off.

“Don’t worry, a reasonable assumption to make. I’ve seen more than one girl approach you this evening,” She tells him with a little smile, “You’re quite the spectacle.”

“Sorry,” He feels oddly compelled to apologise even though he has no idea what he’s actually apologising for.

“It’s not your fault,” She tells him with a laugh of her own though of course she sounds so much more in control than he does, “I just figured maybe you needed a break from the ogling.”

“Why?” he asks her incredibly confused by this whole interaction.

“Why what?” She asks him with a curious tilt of her head that somehow makes he look adorable instead of the sexy intimidating aura she’s been projecting so far.

“Why are you ‘saving me’?” He asks. He blames Seongwoo for how suspicious he is of everyone’s motivations these days. Every one wants something in life, and he’s aware more than others the lengths people will go to and the masks they’ll wear to get what they want.

It’s funny actually, she reminds him so much of Seongwoo in some ways that it’s painful; especially when he’s trying to forget.

“You know,” She says, with a thoughtful look after “I don’t know, I guess you remind me of someone,” her words strangely mirroring the ones Daniel had just been thinking.

“I remind you of someone?” He asks her not liking the sound of that. Wondering if maybe he knows her from somewhere; from his other life.

“Yeah. No offence but you seem, sad. Like deep down,” She says, eyes flitting to the side as her posture droops slightly as if she’s embarrassed, “Sorry if I’m being too nosy, but you asked so I answered. Probably too honestly, I’m always being told I’m too honest.”

“I remind you of your sad friend?” Daniel asks, feeling his eyebrows rise into his hairline. That is a new one.

“Well, he’s heartbroken,” She says with a sad smile that looks like the most genuine thing he’s gotten from her this entire conversation, “But I hope you’re just sad. I mean,” she leans closer lowering her voice conspiratorially, “If Ahn Junhyun was my boss I’d probably be sad too.”

Daniel barks out a laugh at that, because Ahn’s reputation is very well deserved. If he had another option he certainly wouldn’t be working for the man.

She’s wrong though. Daniel is heartbroken, heartbroken and betrayed and unable to let go. However compelling or charismatic this nameless girl is though he’s not going to start spilling his secrets to strangers. He’s only done that once before and that, in a long winded way, is how he ended up in this situation in the first place.

Instead he musters his best smile and shoots it straight at her, “I’m not sad, I promise.”

She giggles, “Well I can see why everyone is halfway in love with you,”

“Everyone’s half way in love with me?” Daniel echoes. Clearly she hadn’t been paying that much attention if she hadn’t noticed that everyone that approached him was driven off in less than five minutes. Not that Daniel minded, where he’d once been extroverted now he prefers to stick to the few people he knows It’s safer that way.

“Can you blame them, when you look like that?” She asks. It’s flirtatious but there’s nothing weighted behind it. She doesn’t want him for Ahn or for his face or at all really; she’s apparently just looking for conversation.

It’s nice Daniel decides, if slightly empty, the half hour of idle chatter he has with her. It’s not inane but it’s not deep; it’s pleasant.

He’s almost starting to enjoy himself for the first time ever at one of these events. Almost. But too soon the conversation ends as unceremoniously as it started.

“Kim,” A girl calls from a couple of feet away from them, as beautiful and overdressed as the girl he’s talking to, Kim apparently.

It’s not until she’s addressed by name that Daniel realises he’d never even thought to ask her for one, or give her his (it’s safer that way).

“Coming Sunmi,” Kim (though that could be her surname) calls back.

Daniel tires not to pout. Talking to her has been the best part of his night (not that there was much competition for that honour) and he’s sad to see her go.

“Hey kiddo,” She says, taping him under the chin with a long nail and forcing him to look at her. He’d half expected her to just get up and leave, “let me give you some advice okay?”

Daniel nods mutely, sure she’s going to give it to him no matter what he says.

“Don’t let Ahn walk all over you, Whatever it is that’s got you sad it’s not as bad as you think it is, and this one is most important,” She leans in towards him before she taps his cheek, “Smile more.”

It’s so unexpected that Daniel laughs, not that he needs any encouragement as Seongwoo always told him.

“I’ll try, just for you,” He says feeling shy at the attention she’s giving him.

“Well then, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around sweetheart,” she says with a wink before she gets up and walks away.

Daniel follows her with his eyes as she walks up to the other woman and greets her with a kiss on the cheek before they walk off, melting into the crowd.

He sighs, pulling his phone out of his phone, hoping someone’s contacting him to relieve him of his boredom but expecting the screen to be as empty of notifications as it has been all night; everyone surely has better things to do with their Friday nights than commiserate with him.

To his surprise he has messages.

When he reads them he realises that he’d have preferred the silence.

 **Yeonjung [23:22]**  
This is the worst day of my life  
Kim Doyeon is engaged  
I just watched her get engaged with my own two eyes  
At my own place of employment  
To that hot guy she was making out with last night?????  
What did I do to deserve this?????

 **Chungha [23:28]**  
Hey, at least their kids are going to be Genetically Blessed™

 **Yeonjung [23:29]**  
T-T

Daniel’s heart sinks down to his feet. A knee jerk reaction.

He has no right to be upset. Like Jisung said this morning there’s a high possibility Seongwoo is just getting engaged for whatever job that he said he was in Las Vegas to pull.

And even if it is real, even if Seongwoo has moved onto a hot model that’s clearly more in his league than Daniel could have ever hoped to be it shouldn’t concern Daniel.

Seongwoo had done the unthinkable and hurt him in ways he’d promised he wouldn’t. Daniel had left Seongwoo in the night, packed up and run with nothing but a voicemail because he still loved him too much to disappear without a word.

Daniel had left Seongwoo for very valid reasons and he should be over him. He told himself he was over him. But then Ong Seongwoo had to shown up in Daniel’s new life; crashed right through the walls Daniel had spent months building like he’d been invited, looking like he hadn’t had a proper meal or nights sleep in the last twelve months.

Daniel had almost convinced himself that he had moved on and then Seongwoo had shown up and destroyed that notion in two minutes flat.

Daniel still loves Seongwoo despite how hard he’s tried to stop. He loves Seongwoo but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the fact Daniel had to leave him. It doesn’t change the fact he’s apparently engaged to this years most in demand model.

It certainly doesn’t change the fact that what hurts most is that after seven years of dating Daniel and Seongwoo had never once discussed the prospect of marriage, even if they couldn’t legally do it in Korea. Four years and it wasn’t even implied once, distance had made Daniel realise why it was Seongwoo was probably never going to propose and he'd come to terms with it even if it broke his heart. Yet here he was a year later Seongwoo was getting engaged to a model in a very public way

Two weeks ago he’d begged Daniel for an explanation looking as heartbroken as Daniel felt and now he was engaged - or fake engaged. Maybe Daniel had fooled himself and seen what he wanted to. Seongwoo hadn’t wanted to reconcile, maybe he just wanted closure.

If Daniel’s heart wasn’t already irreparably shattered that thought would certainly do it.

He’s startled out of his musing by a heavy hand on his shoulder. A heavy, familiar and entirely unwelcome hand.

“Well, you’ve certainly made some friends tonight,” Ahn says with a laugh that’s the opposite of amused.

“Not really,” Daniel shrugs. The one thing about knowing that Ahn has, certain uses for him, is that he’s probably not going to get fired for showing a little cheek.

Usually he wouldn’t risk it because if he loses this job he has no other options in this world, right now he’s too emotionally conflicted to care.

Ahn makes a displeased sound but doesn’t push it any further which Daniel is grateful for. If he was fired tonight on top of everything he doesn’t know what he’d do, what he’d have left (there’s Jisung and his friends of course but the Seongwoo situation had taught him that no matter how close you were to someone you could always lose them).

“I’m done here, nothing is holding my interest,” Ahn says, squeezing Daniel’s shoulder before turning on his heel and leaving.

Daniel gets up, scanning the table to make sure he left nothing behind, and follows him. Ahn is his ride after all, if he’ll only take him to the hotel. It would actually be quicker to get home from here than to go back to work but Ahn would never do anything that didn’t directly benefit him (Daniel doesn’t really mind though - he doesn’t want Ahn to know where he lives).

Ahn continues to watch him in a way that he can’t quite decipher as they settle into Ahn’s limo, Daniel being pulled down to sit right next to Ahn despite the rest of the vehicle being empty when they get in.

After they do one of Ahn’s assistants, Daniel has no idea what her name is, slips into the car after them. Daniel breathes a sigh of relief that he won’t be alone with Ahn at the very least.

“Sir, we have a bit of a situation,” She says in Korean as soon as the limo starts moving, probably so they’re not overheard by the driver (there’s a partition of course but Ahn doesn’t trust the drivers not to eavesdrop because he’s a paranoid fucker).

“What kind of situation?” Ahn asks, not looking up from his phone.

The girl swallows nervously. Daniel knows this isn’t going to be good news, “It appears that someone has tried to rob you.”

The air in the car goes from awkward to chilly in three seconds flat as Ahn lowers his phone and shoots the girl a look. Daniel sinks back into the chair, hoping no one will remember he’s here, “Someone attempted to rob me?”

“Well, rob the gallery. The Hokusai galley specifically. They were surprised by a guard before they could take anything, but they got away,” She says without taking a breath, like she thinks the best way to tell Ahn is like that old ripping off a bandaid cliche.

“They got away?” Ahn repeats sounding dangerous, “The guards caught them in the act but they got away?”

“Apparently,” She says, looking him bravely in the eye. Daniel wouldn’t have the nerve to do it.

“Fire the guard,” Ahn tells her ruthlessly.

“Yes sir,” she bows her head, typing out a note on the phone she has clutched in her hand.

“They must have at least gotten security footage though, right?” Ahn asks latching a hand onto Daniel’s knee but not looking at him. Daniel swallows and tries not to flinch away.

“Well,” She says in a way that tells Daniel there’s not going to be footage of them before she explains, “There is? They don’t seem to know where the cameras are or have been clever enough to cut the feed but they have used some sort of device to distort the camera? The tech guys think it was infrared LED. A cheap, crude way to block your face from the cameras but effective.”

She sounds like she’s reading information straight off a webpage or something. Maybe she is; Daniel wouldn’t blame her.

“So, someone tried to rob me and security was incompetent enough to let them escape, is what you’re saying,” Ahn says fingers digging into Daniel’s knee as he gets angrier. Daniel looks down and just hopes they get back to the casino soon.

“Yes sir, that’s what they tell me” she nods again biting her lip, “The police?” She questions.

“No,” Ahn says looking at Daniel out of the corner of his eye. Daniel doesn’t know if that mean Ahn suspects him or if he simply doesn’t want to discuss anymore information when Daniel’s around to overhear.

That’s the end of discussion until they arrive back at the hotel, although Ahn doesn’t remove his hand from Daniel’s knee the entire ride (he should probably count himself lucky it doesn’t get higher up his leg in all honesty).

Daniel’s essentially left standing outside the hotel as Ahn sweeps away to his office, the girl following behind with only a sympathetic glance to spare for Daniel.

He half expects to bump into Seongwoo and his new fiancee in the lobby but his bad day must have ended when the clock stuck midnight because he doesn’t see anyone he recognises as he makes his way to the lounge Sewoon is performing in, waiting for him to finish.

Daniel takes a seat at the back of the room and uses the opportunity to think about the robbery.

Seongwoo was very obviously somewhere else so it couldn’t have been him. And Seongwoo, as far as Daniel knew, wasn’t sloppy enough to fail in a heist as simple as their gallery. They had security but it was nowhere near state of the art. Not even the most secure place that Daniel had worked.

Whoever had tried to the robbery had been sloppy. It was a rookie error not to account for the guard schedules; one even Daniel knows to look out for just from time spent with Seongwoo and Jonghyun. Knows from the afternoon Minhyun sat him down and walked him through the basics cons art thieves tried to pull. To protect himself from ending up as a target for grifters looking to rob the gallery Minhyun had said.

If thinking about Seongwoo is heartbreaking thinking about Jonghyun and Minhyun is painful, relationships he treasured that were a casualty of Seongwoo.

Or maybe they were like Seongwoo and never really cared about him anyway.

Daniel doesn’t like to think about it.

Daniel doesn’t like to think about it but he knows he’s going to spend the rest of the night caught up in his own head. Caught up in his own broken heart.

He’s not going to get any sleep tonight.

He knows deep down, that as soon as he's alone in his bed everything is going to shatter. That’s the effect Seongwoo still has on him.

His iron tight control on his emotions. His world. His job security and peace of mind.

The pieces of his heart he’d taken a year to piece back together.

(That scares him more than anything).

* * *

 

 **Daniel [04:17]**  
I Need Your Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whose a bigger Emo Drama Queen™ at this point tbh Ong or Daniel?
> 
> This chapter also fought me the whole way that’s like the last 3 chapters I’ve written? So basically a perfect time for a break.
> 
> On that note I am gonna be gone for a couple of weeks? I was planning it anyway because #life but the new temp job I got actually got extended for the whole of October and whilst I’m getting paid way better I can’t write at work anymore so, no promise when I'll update next


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I certainly did not mean to go this long without updating this fic but other things kept stealing my attention and I couldn’t concentrate on this. But I hit a roadblock for my fest fic and made myself promise I wouldn’t start anything else till I updated both my WIP so here we are.
> 
> Some of the shit I’ve looked up for this fic probably has made my internet history super questionable - @Mr Potato Head’s Super Ministry I’m a writer not a would be thief - I’m too apathetic to rob anyone.

The Hokusai Gallery at Echelon Place Casino closes promptly at 9pm every evening unless it has been booked out for a function or event.  
  
The paintings are locked behind three sets of doors by the last staff member to leave for the evening, the motions cameras are set and the lights switched off.  
  
Guards take a rotating schedules, checking on the room at ‘random’ pre scheduled intervals approximately once an hour.    
  
The gallery Ahn Junhyung’s pride and joy; his boasting rights and it’s protected as such.  
  
To anyone walking past the gallery on 10:30 that Friday night the gallery would look the same as any other evening.  
  
If one was to go into gallery they would see that was not the case.  
  
If one was to go inside the gallery they would find four men that were very clearly up to no good. The way two of them were removing prints off the wall could be nothing but illegal.  
  
The way if you looked closer there was a third young man hanging down from the air vents in the room. Something he had no legitimate reason for doing.  
  
The fourth man sat cross legged on the leather seat in the room, pencil tucked behind his ear as he ordered the others around, clearly in charge.  
  
There’s a sense of haste but not agitation. They worked quickly and efficiently, like they’d done this a million times before. A well oiled machine.  
  
If someone was to walk into the gallery at 10:35pm they would find a totally different scene. Urgent and improvised yet still not chaotic.  
  
At 10:34 pm all four of the men stop simultaneously as a voice filters through the ear pieces they’re wearing, “Guys, there’s a guard coming right now.”  
  
“What?” One of the men says, so shocked he drops the frame in his hands.  
  
“I thought that the guards rotation wasn’t until 10:58pm on weeknights,” the obvious leader snaps.  
  
“It’s not meant to be but they’re going one patrol for some reason,” The first voice is back, through the comms before it’s replaced by another calmer voice.  
  
“It’s okay. We’re okay you’ve got time,” It says, soothing.  
  
“Three minutes, tops,” The first voice comes back on.  
  
“Okay, that’s enough time,” The leader says nodding to the two boys lifting, “Get that one back up right now and then we need to split.”  
  
“Yes boss,” One of them salutes him whilst the other does as he’s instructed without question.  
  
“Daehwi, you either need to get up right now or you’re going to have to go out with the others,” The calm voice returns, “Everyone else you know what to do. Don’t worry about the artwork, just get out”  
  
The leader smiles and readjusts his collar.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Jonghyun holds his breath the entire evening. He holds it as he sits in Jinyoung’s hotel suite, on Minhyun’s lap where he’d been dragged as soon as the gallery group had gone live (“so that Jinyoung doesn’t stab you with a pen for crowding him” Minhyun had whispered to him as soon as he’d done it).  
  
They sit together on an arm chair watching between Jinyoung at his usual work station monitoring the gallery squad and Yoojung sitting across from them with a laptop on her lap keeping an eye on Seongwoo and Doyeon in a casino on the other side of the road (close enough they can intervene if anything goes wrong - though even Jonghyun’s pessimism can’t see anything going wrong in that case except maybe Seongwoo getting wasted in the aftermath).  
  
Hyuna’s also periodically texting him updates on what Daniel is up to across town, whilst Jaehwan flits between Jinyoung’s monitors and Yoojung’s laptop claiming that he’s become a bit of an expert of surveillance after stalking Daniel for a week.  
  
There are a lot of parts in motion. A lot of balls in the air.  
  
So many things that could go terribly wrong.  
  
With so many places things could have fucked up it doesn’t surprise him that something did go wrong.  
  
Thankfully they managed to get by relatively unscathed. Jinyoung spots the guards doing their rotation early and can warn the guys. They get out without getting badly hurt.  
  
That’s the most important thing in Jonghyun’s book.  
  
Anything else can be fixed, can be rearranged or accounted for. They don’t have the resources for a jail break (Jonghyun doubts  even if they’d been caught Ahn would have gone to the police).  
  
Still Jonghyun is so relieved when Sungwoon let’s them know that they all got out okay he jumps to his feet.  
  
Jumps to his feet and paces, the breath he’d been holding rushing back in what seems like a huge burst on energy that Jonghyun has to get out somehow.  
  
Yoojung is the only one that looks at him strangely when he starts jumping about just to get rid of that energy (though he’s pretty sure that he could run around naked and Jinyoung wouldn’t notice right now).  
  
He continues moving around with restless energy ignoring Minhyun’s fond eyes on him until eventually Yoojung shuts her laptop lid with a thud, “They’re on they’re way back right now. Everything went off okay,” She says looking relieved.  
  
As soon as he knows everyone is okay the energy leaves Jonghyun as suddenly as it came and he crashes onto the couch next to Minhyun (when had he moved?  Jonghyun hadn’t even noticed)  
  
“Well,” Minhyun says exchanging a look with Jonghyun when no one else speaks, “That could have gone better.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says, chewing on his lower lip, “It could have.”  
  
“Oh cheer up you two,” Jaehwan says, flinging an arm over each of their shoulders, “It could have also gone a whole lot worse.”  
  
Minhyun smacks Jaehwan on the shoulder, “Don’t tempt fate.”  
  
“Don’t be superstitious,” Jaehwan retorts, sticking out his tongue even as he’s backing away from them.  
  
“You say superstitious, I say cautious,” Minhyun says leaning his head against Jonghyun’s shoulder like he’s tired. Which if funny consider he’s the one that slept most of the morning away as Jonghyun was helping Seongwoo coach Somi.  
  
“I’m just saying-” Jaehwan starts to say before he’s cut off by the fact that Minhyun has thrown a pillow at his face.  
  
“If you were going to list specific things that could have gone wrong but didn’t I will throw you out the window,” Minhyun tells him matter-of-factly his eyes still shut, “Don’t put that shit out into the universe.”  
  
“We’re on the 64th floor,” Jaehwan says giving Minhyun a horrified look, like he’s not actually sure if Minhyun would throw him out the window.  
  
“That’s the point,” Minhyun says with a sigh as if he thinks Jaehwan is particularly stupid.  
  
“Alright children,” Jonghyun says, ignoring the fact he was the one that was jumping around like a restless toddler a few minutes ago, “We have a warehouse to be at so how about we take this elsewhere.”  
  
“Yeah, someone where Minhyun can’t throw me out a window,” Jaehwan says the pout evident in his voice.  
  
“Yeah he can just crush you with any multitude of abandoned pieces of machinery,” Jinyoung points out. Jonghyun wasn’t even sure that he was listening to them anymore.  
  
“On second though, how about we just stay here?” Jaehwan asks, edging as far away from the windows as he can be without leaving the room.  
  
“No,” Jinyoung says before Jonghyun can answer him, “My computers don’t deserve that.”  
  
“Plus the gallery team should stay away from here at least for a couple of days,” Jonghyun points out knowing full well Jaehwan is just complaining to be able to hear his own voice.  
  
“Fine, as long as you protect me from Minhyun,” Jaehwan says pointing straight at Jonghyun like it wasn’t clear who he meant.  
  
“Sure, you can stay and help Jinyoung pack up his things,” Jonghyun tells him as he gets to his feet, “We’ll head down to the warehouse and meet you there.”  
  
Mostly because he wants to make sure some things are hidden from their guests. Doyeon and Yoojung have helped them considerably but they still don’t know nor do they need to know the finer details of their plan.  
  


* * *

  
  
  
When Jonghyun gets to the warehouse with Minhyun in tow he’s surprised to find Doyeon and Seongwoo are already there.  
  
They’re sitting on a couch that the chicks had dragged in at some point, on opposite ends their body language as awkward as ever. They were talking though, in low voices, Doyeon playing with her finger where just an hour ago Seongwoo had publicly slipped a ring on.  
  
They’re both taking it remarkably well (Jonghyun is waiting for the fall out).  
  
“So, did you have fun?” Minhyun asks him casually as Jonghyun slinks off to make sure the mock up vault is well and truly hidden from any prying eyes.  
  
Jonghyun can’t hear what Seongwoo retorts from the back of the warehouse but he does hear the way Doyeon giggles in response.  
  
Jonghyun rolls his eyes and gets to work quickly, only slightly surprised when a figure drops down off one of the shelves.  
  
“You’ve been spending too much time with Daehwi,” he tells Jihoon as calmly as he can manage, never mind his elevated heart rate.  
  
“Please I’ve been able to do that for years,” Jihoon tells him haughtily, “Who can’t?”  
  
“Yeah, who can’t,” Jonghyun agrees softly even though it takes a hell of a lot of practice to be able to move around silently. Jonghyun had only ever mastered it out of dire necessity.  
  
Jihoon doesn’t say anything for a while, just helping Jonghyun move the vault details out of sight, but the fact he’s helping means that he must have something to say.  
  
“Next time I refuse to be the baby-sitter,” Jihoon finally says, though sure that can’t be what’s actually on his mind.  
  
“A lot of people have refused to do things next time,” Jonghyun tells him mildly trying not to laugh at him, “I think maybe those people think they can run these jobs better than me.”  
  
“No better than you, just more pleasant for me personally,” Jihoon tells him with a bright smile.  
  
Jonghyun is 85% sure that’s meant to be a joke so he feels comfortable laughing.  
  
“Well I’ll make sure to note that your personal feelings are the most important consideration in the future,” Jonghyun tells him dryly.  
  
It’s Jihoon’s turn to laugh.  
  
Jonghyun steps back, satisfied that the vault is hidden enough that neither of their guests will be able to put together exactly what their plan is if they do wander deeper into the warehosue.  
  
Before he gets very far Jihoon stops him.  
  
“Seongwoo, he really loved Daniel didn’t he?” he asks, voice lowered so there’s no chance they’ll be overheard.  
  
Jonghyun bites his lip trying to decide how to answer before going with honestly, “Seongwoo loves Daniel. That’s half the problem.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jihoon says, looking down at his feet in a way that’s part uncomfortable part bashful, “They, both really love each other huh?”  
  
“You would know about how Daniel feels at the moment than I do,” Jonghyun says quietly. He has to assume that part of Daniel still loves Seongwoo but he still has no explanation for why he left.  
  
“I think he does, I think that’s why he’s so sad,” Jihoon says, waving his hand around in the air as if sad is supposed to cover so much more weight than usual.  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun echoes not wanting to gossip with Jihoon about Seongwoo’s private life.  
  
“You know I thought that whole romance thing was supposed to make life better,” Jihoon says, eyes unfocused like he’s not really talking to Jonghyun so much as at him, “But from everything I’ve seen in people it just seems to make it harder.”  
  
“Well,” Jonghyun says with a little smile, “You’ve met Seongwoo, surely you’ve realised that making things harder than they need to be is Seongwoo’s speciality.”  
  
With someone else Jonghyun might have talked about his relationship with Minhyun but he’s sure Jihoon doesn’t really want to hear that.  
  
“Yeah,” Jihoon says with a nod of his head. Jihoon is hard person to read, Jonghyun has always thought that. Over the weeks they’ve been doing this Jonghyun likes to think he’s gotten a little bit of a handle on Jihoon and the way he thinks.  
  
What truly does remain a total mystery to him is what Jihoon thinks of Seongwoo. Sometimes it seems like he has a deep respect for him, other times Jonghyun is sure that Jihoon has nothing but disdain for him.  
  
He’s stopped trying to figure it out.  
  
“You know, I don’t think I got it before but I do now,” Jihoon says looking over his shoulder as if to check he’s not about to be overheard, “Why Seongwoo is the way he is.”  
  
“He’s not always this way,” Jonghyun feels the need to defend Seongwoo, a knee jerk reaction. Not that there’s anything wrong with the way Seongwoo is at the moment, he’s just made a few really bad choices.  
  
“No, and I think I get that. I think I understand and I’m really in awe of how he held himself together tonight, he was. Convincing to say the least,” Jihoon says with a look that’s a mix of admiration and disgust, “I’m sure you’ll be seeing it all over the new for the next couple of weeks.”  
  
“I can’t wait,” Jonghyun says, wondering why Jihoon is telling him this.  
  
He doesn’t find and answer and it seems Jihoon has said whatever he needs to say. Jonghyun doesn’t push.  
  
The two of them return to the group to find that the other three from the hotel and Woojin have all arrived whilst they were talking.  
  
Jinyoung is lying face down on a blanket on the floor typing away on his computer as always, the others have dragged the second couch in the warehouse and another couple of chairs over to create a makeshift little gathering area.  
  
“Sungwoon said the others should be about ten minute,” Minhyun tells Jonghyun when he takes a seat next to him on the second couch.  
  
“What took them so long? They were out of there well before any of us.” Jihoon asks curiously, sitting on the back of the seat next to Jonghyun instead of the actual cushion.  
  
“Making sure they don’t have a tail,” Jonghyun answers absently, more concerned with watching as Seongwoo, now sitting on a chair instead of the couch obsessively checks his phone. He’ll have to keep an eye on that.  
  
“Jonghyun’s a bit over paranoid about these things,” Jaehwan tells Jihoon with a little smile, his voice quieter than usual - probably because Woojin appears to be sleeping on his shoulder, “Which is funny considering he’s the only person in this room that’s been in jail.”  
  
“That’s not technically true,” Yoojung tells them with a cheerful grin. She’s appears to be in a much better mood now than she’d been all day. Jonghyun can’t blame her.  
  
“What, you were in jail?” Jaehwan asks. Shouts is probably a better word for it.  
  
“Nope,” Yoonjung shakes her head.  
  
“That would be me,” Doyeon says with a long suffering sigh, raising her hand in the air.  
  
“Now this is a story I have to hear,” Seongwoo says turning to her with curious smirk.  
  
He doesn’t get to hear the story - at least not right now - because the sound of the four voices they’re waiting on soon start to echo around the warehouse announcing their approach.  
  
“Daehwi is hurt,” Guanlin announces as soon as the four of them traipse into view.  
  
“I am not,” Daehwi glares at Guanlin, even though he’s clutching his hand to his chest in a way that indicates it’s probably injured.  
  
“Daehwi,”  Minhyun says warningly.  
  
“Okay, I might have cut my hand just a little bit,” Daehwi admits looking down as if he’s ashamed, “But it’s fine, just a scratch no big deal.”  
  
Seongwoo sighs and slips off without saying anything.  
  
“Oh man, you are in for a Fussing,” Jaehwan cackles jostling Woojin’s half asleep form (at least he was half asleep before he had Jaehwan giggling in his ear).  
  
“A fussing?” Jihoon questions.  
  
“Yeah, a Fussing,” Jaehwan confirms not expanding on his words at all. Jonghyun hides a smile knowing exactly what he means; let the kids experience it for themselves (surely it would motivate them to be more careful).  
  
“A date with the first aid kit,” Woojin offers, his first words since he’d gotten in (as far as Jonghyun is aware).  
  
“Why am I not surprised Minhyun lugs a first aid kit around everywhere?” Daehwi mutters under his breath sounding resigned.  
  
“I don’t,” Minhyun says. He’s got a straight face on but Jonghyun can tell he’s taking a great deal of amusement out of this situation.  
  
“You don’t?” Daehwi echoes.  
  
“He doesn’t,” Seonho agreed with a big yawn.  
  
“Who does then? Jonghyun?” Jihoon asks, turning towards him with a curious tilt of his head.  
  
“Not even close,” Minhyun says, biting on his lip so he doesn’t laugh, “Jonghyun might be calm and unflappable in a crisis,”  
  
“Barely flappable, not quite unflappable,” Jaehwan says as if he’s seriously considering the thought, “Remember that time he accidentally started a kitten stampede…”  
  
“But he is literally terrible when it comes to first aid,” Minhyun finishes ignoring Jaehwan as he’s gotten very well accustomed to doing, “One time he-”  
  
“Okay let’s not turn this into story time of Jonghyun’s biggest fuck ups,” Jonghyun says, covering Minhyun’s mouth with his hand to shut him up.  
  
Minhyun glares at him playfully out of the corner of his eye but does nothing to protest except kissing the palm of Jonghyun’s hand as he goes to remove it.  
  
“Why not? Sounds interesting?” Yoojung asks, bouncing up and down on her seat slightly, eyes gleaming playfully.  
  
“Stop it,” Doyeon tells her, gripping onto her arm so tight that Jonghyun can see the way her nails dig into Yoojung’s skin from where he’s sitting. Yoojung just sits still with a pout before Doyeon withdraws her hand.  
  
Jonghyun still doesn’t know how to take either of them though he can’t deny they’ve been invaluable assets so far.  
  
“So who is the first aid master?” Doyeon asks once Yoojung has calmed down, leaning forward looking interested despite herself, “If it’s not you two and it’s not Sungwoon, I’m not sure I could see it being anyone else.”  
  
“How do you know it’s not me?” Sungwoon asks mildly shooing Jihoon off of the couch so that he can take a seat on it instead of the floor.  
  
Jihoon puts up a token protest but eventually just sits on the floor next to Jinyoung.  
  
“Well if it was you then Daehwi’s hand would have been treated before he got here,” Doyeon points out, an astute observation.  
  
“Fair,” Sungwoon inclines his head.  
  
“What did you do?” Jonghyun asks Daehwi curiously. He’s still sort of hovering around the edge of the group not taking a seat like basically everyone else has (Seonho hasn’t either but he at least looks semi comfortable leaning against the table Guanlin is sitting on).  
  
“I cut it on the vent,” Daehwi admits still not meeting anyone’s eye. If Jonghyun had to hazard a guess he’d say that he’s probably blaming himself for making a stupid mistake.  
  
“Well in that case we probably need to disinfect the shit out of it,” Seongwoo tells him returning to the group with his very well stocked first aid kit in hand  
  
“Seongwoo is our designated medical person?” Jihoon asks, eyebrows raised into his hairline.  
  
“Well, that is unexpected,” Doyeon says with a grin. Jonghyun isn’t sure why she’s so happy about Seongwoo knowing first aid but he probably doesn’t want to know; the job that Doyeon and Seongwoo are pulling has nothing to do with him and the less he knows about it the less likely he is to catastrophise.  
  
“Let me see Daehwi,” Seongwoo says ignoring the chatter around him as he places the first aid kit on the table.  
  
Daehwi reluctantly shows Seongwoo his hand. It’s kind of funny the way everyone in the room watches as Seongwoo gently grasps his wrist and twists it around so that he can get a good look at the cut, “Well it’s not bleeding anymore so that’s good but it’s pretty deep. And it’s definitely going to need disinfected if you cut it on the air vents,”  
  
“Do I have to, I mean it’s just a small cut,” Daehwi says, shrinking away from Seongwoo.  
  
Seongwoo puts his hands on his lips and levels Daehwi with a glare, “Lee Daehwi do you know what can happen to cuts that you don’t disinfect?”  
  
“It can’t be that bad can it?” Daehwi asks even though his face gives him away, “I’ve cut myself before and it was fine.”  
  
“Don’t be a baby,” Seonho tells Daehwi with a bright smile, he’s probably trying to be reassuring, “You’ve never gotten injured at a show before?”  
  
“I’m just that good,” Daehwi boasts, buffing his chest up in pride.  
  
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you favouring your right knee Yoo Seonho,” Seongwoo tells him with a pointed look.  
  
Seonho groans but then leans all his weight on Guanlin with a sigh, “Man pretending not to be injured is exhausting.”  
  
“Then don’t do it, considering it’s a monumentally stupid thing to do,” Minhyun tells him with a disappointed frown.  
  
It’s kind of funny the way Seonho trips over himself to apologise - never wanting to disappoint Minhyun, “Sorry Minhyun, I’ll never do it again,”  
  
Minhyun nods with a pleased little grin before everyone’s eyes are drawn to Daehwi who has just let out a pained shriek.  
  
“Sorry,” Seongwoo says, not looking sorry at all as he dabs at Daehwi’s hand with some sort of cloth. It seems he used Daehwi’s distraction to disinfect his hand, “But like I said we had to do it and now it’s done.”  
  
“It hurts,” Daehwi pouts, hopefully playing it up for dramatic effect.  
  
“You know what hurts more?” Seongwoo asks him ruthlessly.  
  
“Sunburn on your ass?” Seonho suggests with a grin  
  
“Stepping on Lego?” is Jihoon’s contribution, a cliche if you ask Jonghyun.  
  
“Getting a paper cut from a playing card and not being allowed to leave your table to treat it until the end of your shift three hours later,” Woojin says with a miserable frown. There’s clearly a story there.  
  
“Well yes, all those things. But what hurts more than that is an infected cut. Especially if the infection gets into your blood stream,” Seongwoo tells Daehwi as he begins to patch his hand up now that it’s disinfected, “You know how you get infected cuts?”  
  
“Cutting yourself with metal?” Daehwi suggests timidly.  
  
“Well, dirty things and I would not trust those air vents to be clean,” Seongwoo tells Daehwi with a shake of his head.  
  
Daehwi pulls a face, “Yeah they were pretty nasty.”  
  
“I had this friend once, this giant idiot of a friend who cut himself with a garden tool and didn’t disinfect the wound. Didn’t even bother to wash it either. Then this total moron didn’t think that something was wrong when he noticed that this cut…” Seongwoo continues to tell his story to Daehwi but Jonghyun tunes him out. He doesn’t need to listen to this story; he was there.  
  
He’s interrupted from memory lane by Sungwoon leaning in to whisper, “Is the person Seongwoo is so clearly raging about right now you?”  
  
Jonghyun looks at Sungwoon in total confusion, “No? Do you think I’m that much of an idiot?” He can’t help asking, ignoring the way Minhyun is hiding a laugh into his hand next to him.  
  
“Well no, but you’ve got this look on your face,” Sungwoon explains looking at Jonghyun curiously, “It’s kind of a smile? But also sort of far away.”  
  
“The person Seongwoo is talking about it Daniel,” Jonghyun says, so quiet that Sungwoon has to lean in even closer to hear.  
  
“Oh,” Sungwoon says, eye widening slightly, “oh.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun says with a nod. It was not one of Daniel’s brightest moments; he’d ended up in hospital for a couple of days, “You couldn’t tell he was talking about him?”  
  
“No,” Sungwoon shakes his head, a small smile stretching across his face as well, “That’s good, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” Jonghyun agrees. This is probably the first time Jonghyun has heard Seongwoo talking about something that happened with Daniel without looking like he’s considering setting himself on fire. “It’s progress,”  he hopes.  
  
When he turns his attention back towards Seongwoo it’s to find most of the other’s have broken off into small group conversations as well, Seongwoo’s story seemingly over (or equally as likely it had gotten so obviously exaggerated that everyone had tuned him out).  
  
Seongwoo is finished with Daehwi’s hand by the looks of it since Daehwi is now lying next to Jinyoung, looking at something he’s doing on his laptop in curiosity.  
  
The sound of the warehouses big roller door going up interrupts everyone’s conversations. Minhyun tenses beside him, shooting him a questioning look. Jonghyun shakes his head pretty sure he knows who it is.  
  
Then comes the clack of high heels on the floor confirming his hypothesis as Hyuna slinks into the light, still dressed in her fancy gown from the gala even though Doyeon and Seongwoo had both changed their clothes before coming over.  
  
Hyuna always was one for an entrance.  
  
“You look hot,” Seongwoo whistles from where he’s now strapping Seonho’s knee for him.  
  
“I always look hot,” Hyuna tells him haughtily, flipping her hair over her shoulder.  
  
“That’s true,” Seongwoo and Doyeon both say in unison.  
  
Hyuna does a theatrical little bow towards both of them.  
  
“You’re also something of a, drama queen,” Jaehwan tells her never one to mince words (although Jonghyun does remember when Jaehwan was terrified of Hyuna - not terrified enough to shut up though).  
  
“Is that any way to speak to the girl that’s going to feed you out of the goodness of her heart?” She asks, hands on hip.  
  
“Oh, when did you grow a heart? Congratulations,” Seongwoo says, patting Seonho’s knee to indicate that he’s all finished.  
  
Hyuna levels him with a glare that’s more amused than offended, “Just for that I’m not sharing my pizza or beer with you.”  
  
“You bought us Pizza and Beer? Hyuna I didn’t know you cared,” He retorts, clutching at his chest.  
  
“Not you just the rest of your team,” Hyuna says stepping further into the light, “So if some of you kind gentleman want to go collect it from the car…”  
  
She doesn’t need to say more before Guanlin and Seonho are rushing off (Seonho literally starts to run before he remembers his knee and then resorts to an odd shuffle).  
  
Hyuna raises an eyebrow, “Someone might want to check that he’s not going to eat everything before he comes back.” She doesn’t need to specify which he she means.  
  
“Yeah, I could do with the walk to wake up,” Woojin says, getting up with a groan and following behind them.  
  
“So,” Hyuna claps her hands pulling herself up so she’s sitting on the table next to Seongwoo, “I hear congratulations are in order? The most beautiful couple on the planet just got engaged.”  
  
Seongwoo laughs, hiding his head in her shoulder to hide his obvious discomfort.  
  
“Funny, I don’t remember getting engaged,” Minhyun says, deflecting attention from Seongwoo (his soft spot is showing), “Do you Jonghyun.”  
  
Jonghyun isn’t usually one for mentioning his relationship at all (though obviously everyone knows) so Seongwoo better appreciate the fuck out of what he plans to say to deflect attention  
  
Jonghyun tries not to smirk as he gasps and clutches his chest, “I can’t believe you could forget the happiest day of my life? Do I mean nothing to you Minhyun?”  
  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Eventually once their pizza is long devoured and some of the kids start to flag everyone starts to drift away until by 4am only six of them remain.  
  
“The core six,” Jaehwan proclaims, now sprawled across an entire couch by himself, “Well, the core five and Hyuna.”  
  
“Are you even in on the cut?” Sungwoon asks her lazily, twisting a beer bottle around in his hands, “Or are you just here out of the goodness of your heart?”  
  
Jonghyun himself has been wondering that, why Hyuna is so eager to help. Of course Jonghyun is going to give her part of the cut but now that Sungwoon mentions it the fact she hasn’t asked yet is odd.  
  
Or maybe it’s not if the way Hyuna and Seongwoo exchange quick looks means what he thinks it means, “I’m bored, you guys are doing something interesting in an out of control car that’s probably going to end in a fire ball kind of way,” she says with a shrug. Jonghyun’s not buying it.  
  
He doesn’t call her on it.  
  
“Thank you for the vote of confidence Hyuna,” Jonghyun says dryly.  
  
“You’re most very welcome darling,” She blows him a kiss from the other end of the couch (Seongwoo has at some point ended up lying across both their laps - his head in her lap and his feet in Jonghyun’s).  
  
“So, now that the children are gone, we should discuss the important things,” Jaehwan says kicking his legs up in the air.  
  
Jonghyun can feel the way Seongwoo tenses in his lap, assuming that Jaehwan is going to start ribbing him about his engagement now there’s no one that doesn’t know about his history still here.  
  
It’s a possibility, with Jaehwan things can go either way. Sometimes he’s focused and professional, other times it’s like he is physically unable to take things seriously.  
  
“Do I want to ask?” Minhyun asks dryly, inexplicably lying across the table. Jonghyun’s pretty sure he hadn’t even had anything to drink.  
  
“What actually went wrong this evening?” Jaehwan asks, sitting up. Business it is.  
  
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Sungwoon says the bottle stilling in his hands.  
  
“From what I can know the guards decided to do their rotation early because they wanted to watch the new episode of some tv show,” Jonghyun says with a sigh. At least that’s what Jinyoung had dragged him to say just before he’d left.  
  
“The human element,” Hyuna says softly, carding her long nails through Seongwoo’s hair, “You can’t account for it.”  
  
“Do they do this every Friday? Could this have been avoided if we hadn’t changed the day?” Sungwoon asks with a frown that Jonghyun can’t read.  
  
“I don’t know,” Jonghyun shrugs. Jinyoung hadn’t given him any more information than that. It’s an easy assumption to make - that it’s something they do most Fridays - but they hadn’t watched long enough to confirm either way.  
  
“For what it’s worth, I think you made the right decision,” Hyuna says quietly, giving Jonghyun a significant look. He makes a mental note to properly catch up with her as soon as he gets a chance.  
  
Sungwoon purses his mouth like he wants to argue with her but doesn’t say anything. Jonghyun hopes that doesn’t turn into another problem.  
  
“Look, things didn’t go exactly to plan but the most important thing is everyone got out,” Jonghyun tells them, “We can tinker with the plan that’s fine, as long as we have everyone safe.”  
  
“You know,” Sungwoon snorts out a laugh, “From anyone else that might sound like a bullshit pep talk but I think you actually mean it.”  
  
“At least 90%,” Minhyun says lazily, “The control freak 10% of him is freaking out things didn’t go exactly to plan.”  
  
Jonghyun thinks about throwing something at him but sadly the only things he has on hand is empty beer bottles and Seongwoo’s shoes. He’s not cruel enough to subject Minhyun to either of those things.  
  
“We can fix it. It’s fine,” Jonghyun says with a nod of his head choosing not to answer Minhyun, “The most important thing is that the switch was made. Everything else can be fixed.”  
  
“For a pessimist you’re pretty optimistic right now,” Seongwoo tells him lazily, digging his heel into Jonghyun’s thigh.  
  
“That’s a song isn’t it?” Hyuna asks absently still twisting her fingers in Seongwoo’s hair.  
  
“I think so,” Minhyun agrees with a nod.  
  
“Can we focus?” Seongwoo asks with a sigh though he’s clearly trying not to laugh.  
  
“We hit the most important part of the plan. Everything else is details - we can still go ahead with the same general plan,” Jonghyun explains. That’s all that matters, details can be changed here and there - this entire job so far has basically been making up the finer details on the go.  
  
“I suppose you’re right,” Sungwoon says with a nod of his head, the beer bottle resuming it’s spinning, “Still, you’re not the one that was chased by Ahn’s guards from his hotel.”  
  
“We’d really have liked to avoid that,” Jonghyun says. It makes things harder. They were supposed to leave behind no trace except for the distorted video footage - the Infrared LED making sure that no one would be able to identify them. Now even though their faces weren’t visible on the camera someone must have noticed their escape.  
  
“Well as long as you would have liked to avoid it,” Sungwoon mutters under his breath.  
  
“I’m sorry Sungwoon, that you almost got caught,” Jonghyun doesn’t know what else Sungwoon wants him to say in all honesty.  
  
Sungwoon sighs, “It’s not your fault.”  
  
“We can regroup tomorrow, make some minor changes,” Minhyun says, basically mirroring what Jonghyun was thinking earlier, “Some not so minor changes but like Jonghyun said the most important parts are still in play.”  
  
“Daehwi’s hand might be an issue though,” Seongwoo says biting his lip, “Depends how quickly it heels but grabbing things or putting pressure on it is going to hurt like a bitch for a while.”  
  
“It’s not going to effect his actual job is it?” Sungwoon asks with a concerned frown.  
  
“Probably,” Seongwoo bites his lip, “I used butterfly strips instead of stitches so it won’t scar in the long term but in the short term he’ll need to be careful.”  
  
“It’s okay, the important thing is that he’s okay,” Jonghyun repeats. That’s what he needs to keep reminding them all.  
  
“The kid is so bendy he could probably do what he needs to do one handed anyway,” Jaehwan shrugs his shoulders.  
  
“Let’s not test that,” Minhyun says, sitting up now reading something on his phone, “How about Seonho’s knee?”  
  
“He’ll probably need to keep the brace on for a while but the good thing is it won’t stop him driving or walking which is basically all the kid is needed for,” Seongwoo tried to pretend to be unbothered but he’s not  fooling now - he’d already showed his hand with all the fussing he’d done when they were injured.  
  
“Don’t forget talking,” Jaehwan says in the biggest case of the pot calling the kettle that Jonghyun has ever come across.  
  
“Yeah,” Minhyun says, distracted by his phone still in his hand, “I’ve got to take this call,” he says out of the blue not bothering to wait for anyone to reply to him before walking  off.  
  
That’s not entirely unusual - Minhyun’s always talking with various contacts all over the world at odd hours so Jonghyun doesn’t bother to do more than nod at him in acknowledgement.  
  
“I think I’ve got some ideas,” Jonghyun tells the rest of the group. The ideas are starting to form as to where they can go from here but it’s going to be riskier without a doubt. He needs time to mull them over before sharing them with the team though, “It’s not hopeless.”  
  
“It’s getting harder everyday,” Jaehwan says with a smile like he finds this whole thing amusing (he probably does - he’s not been anywhere close to the action).  
  
“We’ve come to far to quit now though,” Sungwoon says. It’s such a cliche thing to say that Jonghyun half thinks he’s joking.  
  
“As long as I don’t need another alibi,” Seongwoo pipes up, leveraging his head up just slightly so he can fix Jonghyun with the full weight of his glare. It might have been somewhat effective if only Jonghyun didn’t have over a decade of experience dealing with it.  
  
“Really?” Hyuna says thoughtfully, biting back a smirk, “I’ve always wanted to plan a wedding.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me longer than I thought to get back into the swing of this fic tbh and this chapter was …. Like 98% sitting around talking yikes. 
> 
> Also I haven’t gotten around to replying to last chapters comments like I meant to this evening but it’s 5:30 am so tomorrow!
> 
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> I finally took my twitter off private this month so I’m over at @nichesindrome if anyone wants to hit me up (mostly I just yell about writing frustrations though nothing interesting/worth following me for xD)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's taken me almost nine months but finally a new chapter! It's mostly thanks to Colette for holding my hand through the writing struggle, letting me talk through ideas / the restructure and giving it an edit for me. The real MVP

It’s not until everyone has gone their separate ways - though Hyuna and Seongwoo are still in the warehouse, the low murmur of their voices just audible to Jonghyun’s ears though he can’t make out their words - that Jonghyun realises Minhyun never returned from making his phone call.

Maybe whoever he was talking to needed a favour or maybe he needed to go back to the house to grab something out of his bag of tricks. Jonghyun isn’t too worried, especially because Minhyun had seemed relaxed when he’d walked off and he knew that if there was something he needed to know, Minhyun would tell him; it was just how they worked.

Jonghyun’s just considering whether he’s going to wait for a lift from Seongwoo or try and make his own way back when there’s the sound of very familiar footsteps behind him. Jonghyun turns around to look at Minhyun, amused with himself for overthinking it - Minhyun’s call had clearly just taken a little bit of time (or he’d needed a break and was hiding out till he heard everyone leaving - that wasn’t entirely out of character either).

There’s a thoughtful look on Minhyun’s face as he approaches but that’s not unusual. They’ve all been so caught up in this job - and Minhyun especially - that the entire atmosphere has been more sober and serious than it usually is.

Jonghyun makes a mental note to talk to Seongwoo or maybe Jaehwan about doing _something_ to lighten everybody up before the job really kicks into gear. Nothing too relaxed, they need to keep their wits about them, but being too stressed is almost as bad.

In the time it’s taken Jonghyun to order that thought, Minhyun has reached him and is smiling at Jonghyun with that fond look he gets sometimes when Jonghyun spaces out (most of the time though he gets gentle mocking).

“Hey,” Minhyun says softly, lacing their fingers together, “Are you ready to go home?”

Jonghyun casts his eyes around the warehouse, dark beyond the small circle of light created by their lamps, though the vague shapes of Hyuna and Seongwoo having what seems to be a very spirited conversation are still visible, and nods, “Yeah, I could do with a nap.”

Minhyun smiles in that mischievous way of his that means he’s up to no good, though Jonghyun is too tired to question it. Minhyun doesn’t say anything to give away why he’s so amused though, instead saying “I think you need more than a nap my dear, you’re dead on your feet.”

Jonghyun sighs, letting himself slump all his weight on Minhyun’s shoulder theatrically. Now that he’s there though he realises exactly how exhausted he is. It’s been a long day, he’s slept probably four hours in the last three days, a nap sounds absolutely fantastic right now and he can’t think of anywhere more comfortable than Minhyun’s shoulders.

Minhyun laughs gently, probably trying not to dislodge him from his spot and instead cards his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair. “Don’t fall asleep here though,” Minhyun warns him, “I’m not strong enough to carry you home.”

“Lies,” Jonghyun mutters into Minhyun’s shoulder, tapping a lazy finger on Minhyun’s stomach as he turns to pull the other more firmly into his arms.

“You’re heavier than you think,” Minhyun insists, grabbing Jonghyun’s shoulders and pulling him up to stand on his own feet. Jonghyun sways at the unexpected motion but manages to right himself, more than used to going on with minimal sleep.

At least nowadays it was due to choice rather than necessity.

“Hey, if you’re up to it before you sleep,” Minhyun says, suddenly serious in a way that has the tendrils of sleep retreating from Jonghyun’s consciousness, “There’s something I want to talk to you about,”

“Is it important?” Jonghyun asks, mind running away from him with theories and possibilities of what Minhyun could possibly need to say to him that he didn’t already know.

It had to be something related to that phone call, it was the only possibility. They’d been together all day; if it was something urgent enough that Minhyun was putting it before sleep then he’d have told him before this.

“I’m not sure,” Minhyun shrugs, shoulders belaying an uncharacteristic hesitance, “It could be something, it could be nothing...but I figured you need to know.”

Jonghyun sighs, drawing himself up and turning to give Minhyun his full attention, trying not to show the other how exhausted and overwhelmed he’s feeling. Today didn’t go well, though it didn’t go disastrously, and he’s already internally screaming at how much he has to rearrange - he’s not sure he could do with another spanner in the works.

He doesn’t fool Minhyun for a second, no amount of standing straighter or nodding earnestly could hide his reluctance. Not from Minhyun who knows him better than anyone except perhaps Seongwoo, and the other just shakes his head, backing down before Jonghyun can even open his mouth to insist it’s alright, that he can listen right now.

“If you’re really tired maybe you should nap first,” Minhyun says with a gentle smile, cupping Jonghyun’s cheek, “approach it with a fresh mind.”

Jonghyun shakes his head, “I want to know, and maybe something to focus on will help keep me awake on the drive home.”

Minhyun snorts, tapping his finger against Jonghyun’s jaw with more force than is strictly necessary, “As if you were going to drive, you were five seconds from falling asleep on me and letting me cart you home.”

“I might have driven,” Jonghyun pouts, even though they both know he wouldn’t have - not if Minhyun was there to do it for him.

“Lies,” Minhyun teases, removing his hand from Jonghyun’s cheek so that he can pinch it instead, laughing sadistically at the way that Jonghyun whines and tries to get away, unwilling to let his painful grasp on Jonghyun’s cheek go.

Being honest,y it’s not actually that painful, but Minhyun can be more violent than he intends to when he gets in a mood so Jonghyun is quick to duck out of his grip before it escalates.

“You’re right - but it’s only because you’re such a control freak that you wouldn’t let me drive,” Jonghyun says cheekily, ducking around behind Minhyun to avoid the way that Minhyun swipes an arm in his direction.

“I’m the control freak?” Minhyun’s voice rises amusingly high in a display of exaggerated disbelief.

“Glad you agree,” Jonghyun smiles, rocking back and forth on his feet because the way Minhyun is getting worked up - even if it’s mostly for show - is hilarious to his tired mind.

Minhyun launches into an impassioned defence of himself, insisting on his lack of control freak tenancies, but honestly Jonghyun isn’t really focusing on the words. Instead he’s watching Hyuna and Seongwoo from his new vantage point - their discussion seems to have gotten somewhat less civil over the last few minutes. Hyuna has her back to him but even from behind he can see through her posture that she’s angry, hands planted firmly on her hips and head tilted back as she looks up at Seongwoo, getting right up in his face as she refuses to back down.

He _can_ see Seongwoo’s face and he doesn’t look angry so much as shattered, like Hyuna is telling him something he doesn’t want to hear. Jonghyun knows that expression too well; it was the same expression he saw before Seongwoo attempted to rob a museum without back-up or a plan.

Jonghyun shifts his weight between his feet, wanting nothing more than to creep closer and listen into the conversation but knowing that wouldn’t go over well with either of them _or_ Minhyun.

Hyuna turns on her heel unexpectedly and Jonghyun whips his head back towards Minhyun so fast it makes him slightly dizzy only to meet Minhyun’s disappointed stare, his body language a lot less open than it was only a minute ago.

“Minhyun,” Jonghyun blurts out, trying to appease Minhyun without actually knowing what he’s going to say next.

Minhyun crosses his arms over his chest, waiting, head turned away from Jonghyun just enough that he gets the message loud and clear.

The sound of heels clacking towards them gives Jonghyun a chance to try and gather his words, but even once Hyuna has brushed past them with nothing but a call of goodnight he’s not sure what he wants to say, brain cloudy with exhaustion and unnerved by the look on Minhyun’s face.

“You want to go to him,” Minhyun eventually takes pity on him, or maybe he’s simply tired of waiting for Jonghyun’s words, for an excuse that he can’t even scrape together.

“I should make sure he’s okay,” Jonghyun insists, still shifting his weight; restless, though he can’t put his finger on exactly why.

“Your full time occupation,” Minhyun snarks at him. Jonghyun can’t tell if he’s joking or not. He must be because making sure that the members of their team are okay has always been something that’s important to both of them no matter what the stakes involved.

“People over plans,” Jonghyun tells Minhyun because that’s been slipping by the wayside and it’s not good enough. Jonghyun needs to stop being so blind when it comes to this job.

Minhyun’s eyebrow raises in disbelief though Jonghyun can’t imagine _why_ that could be. It was Minhyun’s motto first, one that Jonghyun adopted over time, “Really Jonghyun? _Really?_ ”

“Yes,” Jonghyun tells him firmly: people over plans, “It won’t take long, a few minutes, no, an hour at most, I promise., I’ll just make sure he’s not about to go break into Daniel’s house and beg him to take him back.”

Minhyun was willing to wait for Jonghyun to sleep so surely there should be no issue with him making sure Seongwoo is going to be okay for the rest of the plan and not about to go rogue. Again.

“When have I ever been one to stop you doing what you want, Jonghyun?” Minhyun shrugs, stepping back with a grimace.

“Minhyun,” Jonghyun says, not sure where he’s going with this. He doesn’t want to start a fight, but he feels like there’s something more going on here.

“I’ll be waiting for you at home,” Minhyun tells him, turning away as he speaks so his words are half lost to the empty warehouse.

“An hour,” Jonghyun promises his retreating form, though Minhyun has stalked away so quickly that Jonghyun isn’t sure he was even heard. He watches as Jaehwan materialises out of thin air (and he was so sure Jaehwan had caught a lift back to their home base with Sungwoon) and lays a hand on Minhyun’s shoulder before they disappear together into the unlit sections of the warehouse, figures lot to darkness.

“Trouble in paradise?” Jonghyun jolts in surprised as Seongwoo speaks up from right behind his shoulder, having crept over at some point during his exchange with Minhyun.

“What part of this,” Jonghyun spreads his arm wide to indicate the warehouse but sure Seongwoo will get the wider implications even if he chooses not to acknowledge them, “is a paradise to you?”

“The part where you’re here?” Seongwoo asks cheekily, any heat in the words lost in the way he’s tapping a absent-minded rhythm out on his elbow.

“If all you needed for paradise was me then we wouldn’t be in this desert hell hole right now!” Jonghyun rolls his eyes, more than used to Seongwoo throwing empty flattery at him in an attempt to distract or fluster (it hasn’t really worked in ten years so he’s not entirely sure why Seongwoo still does it).

“Well, you make any place slightly more paradisiacal,” Seongwoo manages to shrug in a nonchalant way despite the fact his shoulders are lowered in a clear sign of anxiety.

“Now you’re just making up words,” Jonghyun accuses, pulling Seongwoo in for a brief hug because he can never stand to see his usually obnoxiously confident friend looking vulnerable.

“I would never! It’s a real word,” Seongwoo insists with a stomp of his foot, turning his head to hide in Jonghyun’s shoulder.

It’s been a hectic day for all of them but it must have been hardest for Seongwoo - not only all the acting he had to do for the job and the emotional toll of the fake engagement, but also the way that he’d had to keep a mask up once they got to the warehouse when everyone else had been able to to relax and debrief.

“You would and you have,” Jonghyun teases him, knowing Seongwoo cannot deny it but expecting him to just to be contrary.

Surprisingly he doesn’t, instead with his face still hidden in Jonghyun’s shoulder he asks, voice smaller than Jonghyun has heard in a while, “Is Minhyun angry?”

Jonghyun snorts, running his fingers through Seongwoo’s hair, “He’s just tried, you know Minhyun can get petty when he’s tried.”

“Minhyun is always petty,” Seongwoo sasses, and Jonghyun can picture the way he’s rolling his eyes right now despite sounding like he’s three seconds away from a breakdown, “It’s just when he’s tired, he doesn’t bother hiding it from you.”

“You’re one to talk about petty, Ong Seongwoo,” Jonghyun tells him, pinching his side gently.

“I can’t even deny that one,” Seongwoo shrugs, the full effect of the motion hampered by Jonghyun’s arms around his shoulders.

“Admitting to flaws? Is this character growth? After all these years?” Jonghyun teases, shuffling the two of them towards the couch because he gets the feeling Seongwoo isn’t going to let him go any time soon.

He’s right; even once he manoeuvres them onto the couch with minimal cooperation from the leech his best friend has turned into and gets Seongwoo to talk about his afternoon and evening, Seongwoo remains glued to his side. Without anyone around to put on a mask for, Seongwoo clings all the tighter as if to make up for all the time he had to hold himself up rather than lean on Jonghyun.

Despite physically leaning on him though, Seongwoo remains more withdrawn than Jonghyun had hoped, not lying to him about anything (as far as he can tell) but staying recalcitrant, words coming haltingly and only after much deliberation, a conscious effort to keep his greatest worries private.

Eventually, mindful of the fact he promised Minhyun he’d be back within an hour, he bites the bullet and asks Seongwoo straight up, “Are you okay?”

“I’m better than okay, I’m amazing,” Seongwoo deflects. He knows it’s an almost instinctive response to the question for Seongwoo at this point so he doesn’t comment, just waits until Seongwoo sighs, “No worse off than I was this morning, I promise.”

“Really?” Jonghyun can’t help but query, nudging Seongwoo away from him just slightly so that he can make eye contact, “Even after everything?”

“I already knew about everything this morning,” Seongwoo says, pulling back even further from Jonghyun, withdrawing until they’re not touching anywhere anymore.

It’s warning sign, an indication that Jonghyun needs to tread carefully, “Knowing about something and experiencing it are two different things.”

“Jonghyun, it’s fine, I’m not going to break apart or anything,” Seongwoo says, looking steadfast and reassuring. He’s too good of an actor for Jonghyun to buy that completely though.

“Is that what you were talking to Hyuna about?” Jonghyun can’t help but pry, curiosity and concern winning out over his desire to placate Seongwoo.

“I talked to Hyuna about a lot of things,” Seongwoo says evasively.

“But was this what you argued with Hyuna about?” Jonghyun prods, wanting to get a reaction out of Seongwoo even if it is irritation.

“I didn’t-”

Jonghyun cuts him off, not having time to be lied to, “I saw you arguing Seongwoo.”

It’s impossible to miss the way Seongwoo clenches his fist when he knows to look for it, an instinctive reaction of nerves, though. what he could be nervous about Jonghyun doesn’t know.

“It’s none of your business!” Seongwoo snaps, tone harsh and slightly tinged with panic.

“It’s my business if it effects the team!” Jonghyun can’t help but point out. How many times he’s going to have to tell Seongwoo this before he actually gets it he doesn’t know.

“Hyuna isn’t part of your team,” Seongwoo sneers, moving his hands out of Jonghyun’s line of sight, having caught onto his little trick.

“She’s part of this job since she’s apparently getting your part of the cut - which by the way is another thing you probably should have mentioned,” Jonghyun says. Not only would it be nice to know he had Hyuna’s skills to count on but a show of trust from Seongwoo after everything would be appreciated. At the very least he could have used it to reassure Minhyun.

“You’re not my mother and you’re not my boyfriend, I don’t have to recount every fucking conversation I have to you,” Seongwoo snaps, turning his body as far away from Jonghyun as he can without getting off the couch.

“I didn’t ask you to do that,” Jonghyun clenches and unclenches his fists wondering why he chose to be here with Seongwoo and his hostility when he could be curled up in bed with Minhyun right now.

“You might as well have!” Seongwoo exclaims, voice louder than it needs to be, echoing in the empty space until his protest seems to attack Jonghyun from every side, “I feel like you’re trying to smother me, just give me a little space!”

His tone isn’t particularly sharp and the words aren’t anything too offensive, they’re all things Seongwoo has thrown at him before out of frustration at himself more than anger, but something about them ignites inside Jonghyun. A simmer of annoyance building into a raging fire of anger the more he thinks about it. How dare Seongwoo talk to him like this when he’s just trying to look out for him? How _dare_ he talk to Jonghyun like this when he’s betrayed his trust so recently?

“Last time I gave you _space_ to deal with your own issues,” Jonghyun says carefully, trying not to let the anger leak out into his voice but sure he’s failing; he must be failing when it feels like that anger is seeping through every particle of his being, “you fucked us all over for you own selfish reasons. So if asking you a question qualifies as smothering you, I’d say I have _every_ right to do it.”

“I said I was sorry, I apologised! How long are you going to keep punishing me for that?” Seongwoo asks, narrowing his eyes at Jonghyun in a way that would be almost intimidating on someone else. He tries to focus on that instead of letting the insult sting.

“For fucks sake Seongwoo, stop playing the victim,” Jonghyun’s hands are clenched so hard he can feel his fingernails digging into his palms but he doesn’t care, he needs the outlet before he does something stupid or violent, “I’m not punishing you, I’m trying to fix the mess you created!”

“The mess I created?” Seongwoo repeats incredulously, like he has the call to be insulted by the accusation, leaping to his feet.

Jonghyun rolls his eyes, not caring if that’s the way Seongwoo sees it. He wants Seongwoo to know how annoyed he is, as petty as that might be of him.

“Seongwoo if you try and say you haven’t made this job harder and more dangerous for us with your single-minded, absolutely moronic pursuit of Daniel than it needs to be, I am walking out of here and never coming back - this fucking job be damned,” Jonghyun threatens, voice wavering with anger.

It’s an empty threat at best because even in his anger he knows he couldn’t walk away from this job even if he wanted to. Surely Seongwoo must know that too; he’s too good not to, but Jonghyun can’t help but play what little cards he has as leverage.

“I fucked up! I apologised! You don’t have to be such a cruel asshole about it!” Seongwoo hisses back, words tripping over each other as they race out his mouth, like Seongwoo is just letting the bitterness he’s held inside overflow, “It’s like you’re punishing me on purpose; do you enjoy seeing me suffer?”

“If I wanted to see you suffer you would know about it,” Jonghyun tells him. If he wanted to see Seongwoo suffer he would still be in jail, or he’d make him get married for real or he would have told Jisung exactly what was going on when he asked, “There have been so many times I have gone out of _my_ way on this job to prevent you from suffering more than you had to, so don’t you dare imply I am against you.”

“I went to jail for you,” Jonghyun yells, angry that Seongwoo isn’t getting it - angrier now than he’s ever been that Seongwoo doesn’t appreciate everything Jonghyun has put on the line for him, “I went to jail for you, I crossed moral lines for you, and I broke a promise I made to someone I care about for you! All for you! So don’t you dare say for one second that I don’t care about you or that I want to see you hurt!”

“I,” Seongwoo bites off the rest of his words before they can escape, brows drawing down as if he’s warring between raging on stubbornly and remorse, pacing the scant space before the couch like a caged tiger licking his wounds.

“It’s so hard,” Seongwoo blurts out, having gone from righteous anger to the verge of tears so quickly that Jonghyun feels like he has emotional whiplash, “having to do this with Doyeon and pretend that I’m okay in front of everyone when I’m _not_ but, I know that it’s my fault. I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.”

Jonghyun draws a breath in and then lets it out slowly, feeling his anger drain away as it always does when Seongwoo bares his vulnerabilities. It’s not an apology but it’s as close as he’s going to get from Seongwoo right now.

“I know. I know it’s hard on you and I know _why_ ,” Jonghyun tells him gently, coaxing Seongwoo to sit down next to him on the couch again. He’s still kind of mad about what Seongwoo said but as he watches his oldest friend breakdown he feels that anger slipping further and further out of reach, “Seongwoo I would never _ever_ cause you pain on purpose.”

“I know,” Seongwoo says, curling in even further on himself.

He sounds so miserable that Jonghyun can’t help reaching out and pulling Seongwoo into a hug, or at least he tries. Seongwoo remains unmoving, curled up in his defensive fetal position - resisting out of some twisted assumption that he doesn’t deserve affection

Jonghyun doesn’t let him resist, tugging on his arms until Seongwoo slowly uncurls, reluctant to the very end, “Come here you big baby, stop trying to punish yourself.”

“Someone should,” Seongwoo mutters, even as he opens himself up, clinging to Jonghyun as if his life depended on it.

“Maybe someone should,” Jonghyun tells him, knowing it’s useless to argue with Seongwoo when he gets like this but also feeling in some malicious part of his personality (a part of himself he doesn’t particularly like) that maybe Seongwoo _does_ need to be punished, “but not like this. Pushing yourself away from people who care about you is going to do nothing in the long run.”

Seongwoo is silent for a moment before he chuckles, or at least tries to, he sounds far too weak for it to be convincing, “You’re not just talking about the hug, are you?”

“Smart boy,” Jonghyun praises, half tongue-in-cheek, petting his hair playfully, unable to resist the urge to mock Seongwoo just a little.

Seongwoo mutters something under his breath, burrowing his head further against Jonghyun’s shoulder like he needs to disappear from the world for a moment, even though there is no one else around to hide from. Jonghyun doesn’t blame him for it, not in the slightest, so he just tightens his hold around Seongwoo and lets the silence soothe him. Gives himself a chance to let down his guard in a way he rarely does.

“Jonghyun?” Seongwoo finally speaks up, voice cracking slightly.

“Yes?” Jonghyun asks, keeping his voiced as hushed as Seongwoo’s because it feels important even though they’re entirely alone.

“I’m sorry that I said you were being cruel on purpose, I know you would never do anything to compromise the job.”

It’s an apology, a sincere one as far as Jonghyun can tell, one of the rare ones offered by Seongwoo without him having to be be pressured or guilted into it - but part of Jonghyun bristles in indignation at the implications.

“You idiot,” he says, harsher than he intends to if the way Seongwoo flinches and tries to pull away is any indication. Jonghyun doesn’t let him, just pulls Seongwoo tighter and tries to explain himself, “I wouldn’t do that to _you_. I care about you dipshit.”

“You can care about people and still hurt them,” Seongwoo points out so quietly that Jonghyun has to strain to hear him even though Seongwoo is as close as he possibly can be to Jonghyun at the moment.

“You can,” Jonghyun concedes because he knows he’s hurt people he cares about (and he’d like to think Seongwoo cares about Jonghyun), “But if you hurt someone you care about on purpose or keep hurting them in the same way, do you really care about them at all?”

Seongwoo tenses in his arms, and for a brief second Jonghyun feels like he’s said something awful - maybe touched on a nerve of Seongwoo’s relationship with Daniel - but thankfully Seongwoo just relaxes with a dark chuckle.

“You’d know all about that ,wouldn’t you Jonghyun?” he asks, in a way that would be almost cruel if Jonghyun didn’t know he was being self-deprecating as much as anything - after all, they lived through that situation together.

“I would, which is why I’d _never_ do it to you and I’d hope you’d never do it to me,” he says pointedly. This conversation has taken an oddly earnest turn but Seongwoo gets in moods like these sometimes, when he’s exhausted or stressed and can’t take the pressure of _pretending_ anymore, so Jonghyun is more than used to going with the flow.

“Never,” Seongwoo says - the fight returning to his voice for the first time since their yelling match dissolved into this.

“Okay, I trust you,” Jonghyun tells him through a yawn, his day without sleep catching up to him, “I trust you.”

* * *

 

Jonghyun doesn’t remember closing his eyes but by the next time he’s conscious of opening them it’s out of necessity - harsh light creeping under his eyelids in a way that makes sleeping impossible.

It takes him a long few moments to realise that it’s sunlight interrupting his sleep - another few to realise it’s not coming through the windows, but rather the skylight in the warehouse. Apparently he’d fallen asleep on the couch in the warehouse last night. It’s probably ridiculous his first thought is that he’s glad - his back won’t thank him but at least Minhyun won’t be on his back about not closing the curtain again.

He can hear in the background Seongwoo talking to someone, though he can’t make out who, before there’s two sets of footsteps, one heading towards him and one away.

Whoever’s approached him doesn’t say anything but rather just kicks him in the knee. “Seongwoo, could you not,” Jonghyun groans assuming that it’s his useless best friend.

“Not Seongwoo,” is the only response he gets as Jaehwan kicks his knee again mercilessly.

“Ouch, Jaehwan, what gives?” Jonghyun complains, curling his knees into his chest in a defensive position to protect himself from Jaehwan’s early morning violence.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Jaehwan says which makes no sense. Then again Jaehwan is the king of nonsense comebacks, always determined to have the last word.

“What do you want Jaehwan?” Jonghyun sighs, sitting up because he assumes there’s a reason Jaehwan is here so early rather than sleeping for twelve hours as he told everyone he was planning to do last night.

“Nothing from you,” Jaehwan says with a shake of his head, “You did ask me to do some test rigging in the vault this morning but if I’m intruding on your makeshift bedroom, by all means, I can come back.”

“I… should probably get back to a real bed,” Jonghyun says rubbing at his eyes.

“It’s 10am Jonghyun, I don’t think you’ll be able to get anymore sleep in that house today,” Jaehwan says with a smirk that Jonghyun’s not entirely sure he trusts.

“It’s ten?” Jonghyun frowns, the late hour gives birth to a niggling feeling in the back of his brain though he’s unsure what it is that has him feeling his uneasy; maybe the part of him hung up on the job just bristles at the wasted morning.

Jaehwan shakes his head with a scoff, kicking Jonghyun once more. “If you go now you might still be able to catch Minhyun,” Jaehwan throws over his shoulder casually as he walks away from Jonghyun and into the faux vault, clearly finished with the conversation.

“Catch up with Minhyun,” Jonghyun repeats to himself, trying to figure out what Jaehwan means by that. It takes him longer than it should for the penny to drop, which he blames on the fact it feels like he’s barely slept, and considering the size of the couch he’s going to assume any sleep he had wasn’t the most restful. 

Minhyun.

 _It won’t take long, a few minutes, no, an hour at most, I promise._ His own words ring mockingly in the back of his head even as Jonghyun stumbles to his feet and bolts out of the warehouse, refusing to look back and check to see whether Jaehwan is sneering at him - he has some grovelling to do.

* * *

 

Jonghyun has barely thrown open the front door when he bumps into Minhyun, fully dressed, and looking less than impressed to see him.

“Morning,” Jonghyun says, shifting his weight between his feet as he bites his lower lip, hoping Minhyun can tell how sorry he is.

Usually this is he would get a snarky comment back from Minhyun - something about how it had been the longest hour of his life. Today he doesn’t, Minhyun just nods back at him, gaze just barely acknowledging his existence. “Morning,” he greets, before making to continue walking past Jonghyun.

If Minhyun is too annoyed to even scold him about his broken promise Jonghyun knows he’s really in trouble this time.

“Where are you going?” Jonghyun asks, reaching out to grab Minhyun’s wrist desperately, paranoid that if he doesn’t have a grip on him Minhyun’s going to walk away and disappear.

“Out,” Minhyun says shortly, pausing in his steps, tension clear in the angle he holds himself.

“Okay,” Jonghyun says, not letting go of Minhyun but loosening his grip so that Minhyun can break away if he needs to.

Minhyun must be able to read something on Jonghyun’s face because he grudgingly elaborates on his previous statement, “I just want to chase something up.”

That explanation is so incredibly vague that it raises Jonghyun’s suspicions - there’s nothing for the job that needs to be done right in this moment, not by Minhyun at least, and Minhyun gets a single minded focus that can rival Jonghyun’s so he can’t imagine it’s for any other jobs. He doesn’t have friends in Vegas outside the team, none of which are working on anything that would require Minhyun’s assistance, leaving only one option Jonghyun can think of.

He’s being avoided.

“You’re not avoiding me, are you?” Jonghyun asks without thinking. As soon as the words leave his mouth he wants to take them back - wishes he could have worded it in a way that was a little bit less desperate.

“Why would I be avoiding you?” Minhyun asks. He could be genuinely confused but chances are he just wants Jonghyun to admit what he’s done.

“Because you’re mad at me?” Jonghyun presses, well aware that he’s still awkwardly holding onto Minhyun’s wrist, “Because I promised you I’d be home in an hour and instead I went and fell asleep on the couch in the warehouse?”

“I’m not mad,” Minhyun says with a sigh, tension draining out of his shoulders in a motion that speaks more of defeat than relief, “I’m not mad at you.”

“But, I promised I’d come home and listen to you and instead I got distracted checking on Seongwoo’s emotional wellbeing,” Jonghyun says, not sure why he’s trying to convince Minhyun to be mad at him if Minhyun insists he isn’t. He doesn’t really want to tell Minhyun he spent an equal amount of time arguing with Seongwoo as he did comforting him - doesn’t want to see the smug expression sure to paint Minhyun’s face or hear the unspoken ‘I told you so’.

“It would be stupid for me to be mad at you for being the way you are; the way you’ve always been,” Minhyun tells him plaintively, twisting his wrist out of Jonghyun’s grip that leaves him grasping for one panicked second until Minhyun moves to lace their fingers together instead.

“I,” Jonghyun flounders, completely at a loss for words. He’s not entirely sure what that means, but the way Minhyun is smiling gives him hope that it’s not a _bad_ thing.

“I just mean you’ve always been very open about your priorities,” Minhyun explains, which has him tensing again before relaxing at Minhyun’s next words, “which for the most part are good things.”

That’s more reassuring.

“People? Are...important to me? People’s happiness?” Jonghyun says slowly, hoping that’s what Minhyun means because otherwise he’s at a total loss. The way Minhyun starts laughing at his hesitance seems to confirm it though he still isn’t sure. 

“I really am sorry though,” Jonghyun rushes to tell him, taking comfort in the way Minhyun sequeeze his hand, “Sorry that I broke my promise and didn’t come home and kept you waiting. I hope you didn’t wait up for me?”  
  
Minhyun snorts, cracking his first geuine smile of the morning, “I know you have an inflated sense of self importance, but contrary to what you seem to think I did not spend my evening sitting by the door waitig for you to come home.”

"I know," Jonghyun continues, squeezing Minhyun's hand back with a sheepish smile painted on his lips, "I know, but that waasn't right of me regardless. I shouldn't have broken my promise to you and I know that nothing I can really say right now will really change that I did, but I'll make it up to you, I promise."  
  
"You promise," Minhyun's smile is sardonic at best and Jonghyun winces, noticing that Minhyun hasn't said anything about forgiveness, but why would he when Jonghyun has left a broken chain of promises behind him so far.  
  
"For real this time," he insists, bringing Minhyun's hand closer and pressing a kiss to his long fingers, "I'll make it up to you. Forgive me?"  
  
A pause and Minhyun smiles, a real one this time as he pulls Jonghyun in for a hug that he walks into all too willingly. "When have I not?" he laughs, "When have I not?

All too soon, much sooner than Jonghyun would like, Minhyun pulls away from him regretfully, “but I really do need to get going so I’ll catch you later, okay?”

“And then we’ll talk about the thing?” Jonghyun asks, writing it off as nothing big if Minhyun is also making the choice to put off telling him.

“The thing?” Minhyun’s brow creases in confusion for all of half a second before realisation settles over his features, “Right the thing, yeah maybe,” he says in a rush, leaning forward to brush a quick kiss on Jonghyun’s cheek before he’s heading out the door

“See you later.” Jonghyun calls after him, unease in his chest unfurling now that he gets a response this time in the form of a wave before Minhyun disappears, front door clicking shut behind him.

He doesn’t see anyone else as he makes the trek to his bedroom - neat as always. He’s just debating whether or not he could get away with a mid-morning nap when the yelling starts.

At first Jonghyun panics, thinking that something has gone wrong with the job or that it’s one of their injured members making an ill-advised move (or god forbid someone else has gone and injured themselves), but as the words get louder and clearer even through the walls he realises that it’s Sungwoon. Who is apparently yelling about little tools.

A second later another voice joins the arguing, Jihoon this time, indignant and insisting he wouldn’t know where to get tiny tools from.

Jonghyun rubs at his forehead, figuring he better go check on what’s going on, padding out into living room to find Sungwoon and Jihoon staring each other down.

“What’s going on?” Jonghyun asks, wondering if there’s a way to inject caffeine straight into your veins; he feels like he’s going to need it.

“ _Someone,”_ Sungwoon spits, the way he’s glaring at Jihoon making it very clear who the someone he’s accusing is, “has replaced all my woodworking tools with miniature versions. I can’t do my work with a tool the size of my fucking fingernail!”

“It wasn’t me!” Jihoon exclaims, looking offended at the very accusation, “I would never! I don’t even know where to find doll sized tools.”

“You could have made them,” Sungwoon accuses, eyes narrowed.

“I don’t actually care enough to do that, who has the time or the energy?” Jihoon asks throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. It sounds like these two have been having this argument for a while, “Besides someone’s taken my tape recorder so I bet it’s the same person.” Jihoon trails off before he’s glaring at Sungwoon in return, “Unless you took it in retaliation?”

“Like anyone else wants your recordings of Daniel talking about fucking prints for sixteen hours,” Sungwoon says with a roll of his eyes, “I know more about the prints then he does.”

Seongwoo might actually want it, and for a brief second Jonghyun suspects him, before he shakes the thought away. Even if Seongwoo did want it he knew he wasn’t in good enough standing to pull this shit - chances are it was the same person who took Sungwoon’s things as some sort of joke.

“Do you not understand what retaliation is,” Jihoon shoots back.

“I’m sure someone is just playing a prank and your things are unharmed,” Jonghyun intervenes before this gets any more heated or start to turn personal, wondering how they’re going to track these things down, “We’ll just have to put our heads together to figure out where they are.”

Sungwoon and Jihoon eyes each other in suspicion before Sungwoon responds, “How do you suggest we do that?”

“We’re a group of master thieves, I’m sure we can think it through,” Jonghyun points out to them, too tired to bother hiding his sarcasm, flopping down onto the couch now that the immediate threat of mutiny is gone.

“I’m sure it was also stolen by a master thief,” Jihoon points out, coming to sit next to Jonghyun, arms crossed petulantly as he continues to eye Sungwoon with distrust.

“But it’s one against three, I’m sure we can figure it out,” Jonhyun tells him with a pat to the knee.

“It’s probably more,” Sungwoon trails off, hands gesturing in the air as if that would explain a response that makes no sense. Jonghyun makes an enquiring noise, so Sungwoon elaborates, “What are the odds someone’s pranked just me and Jihoon? Chances are we’re going to hear from more people with missing things soon.”

He has a point, and it’s exactly the last thing Jonghyun needs.

“My money’s on Seongwoo,” Jihoon mutters under his breath. Jonghyun doesn’t bother scolding him for the accusation when he had the same thought moments earlier

“Well we’ll find out and get our revenge eventually, but first we need to figure out _where_ your possessions are,” Jonghyun says, settling in to approach this like any other job. Reverse engineering a theft is all it really is.

Sungwoon of course is right - it seems everyone is affected by the unexpected mischief. As Jonghyun is trying to reassure the chicks that he’s _sure_ someone hasn’t misaligned all the vehicles mirrors and tires by a minuscule amount, Jinyoung calls Jonghyun in a panic because someone has changed the sounds his computer systems make and that’s probably a sign he’s been hacked because no one should be able to get into his systems. Woojin’s yelling something about his uniform even as Jonghyun tries to calm Jinyoung down and Seongwoo (who Jonghyun didn’t even realise was back at the house not the hotel) is alternating between trying to reassure Daehwi he’s sure his stage costume isn’t permanently going to be brown and looking down at his hand in worry.

The widespread chaos has Minhyun’s fingerprints all over it.

Chase something up, Jonghyun thinks with a shake of his head, the last of his worries dissipating as the mayhem around him rages on. Obviously not, Minhyun just didn’t want to be here to be blamed for any of the unfolding chaos - because somehow Jonghyun was sure there was more to come.

No wonder Minhyun had been in such a rush to leave the house this morning, it had nothing to do with Jonghyun. It’s probably also what Minhyun wanted to talk about last night - looking to get Jonghyun to help him in an effort to lighten the mood (A misguided attempt - he’d clearly underestimated how frayed everyone’s nerves were).

He’ll get Minhyun back for this later.

Now he needs a coffee before he loses his entire afternoon untangling this mess.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm over on twitter [@nichesindrome](https://twitter.com/nichesindrome) if you wanna hit me up (or I mean i guess [CC](https://curiouscat.me/chaosmyths) if that's more your thing), but honestly I'm so boring I don't have much of interest to say.


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